Vast Majority of Chileans Demand a New Constitution

A poll by Pulso Ciudadano this Monday revealed that 81 percent of Chileans will vote for a new Constitution in the referendum announced for April 2020.

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The study indicates that only 8.2% of those consulted were opposed to a new Constitution, while 6.3 percent did not know what to answer, which demonstrates the broad support of the country's citizens for a new Magna Carta.

Equally important is that when asked about the preferred body to draft the new constitutional text, 63.5 percent favored the constitutional convention (constituent assembly), composed only of citizens and without the participation of politicians.

Only 24.4% support the idea that this task should be carried out by a mixed constitutional convention (mostly backed by right-wing parties and the government), which would be made up of citizens and parliamentarians in equal shares.

The poll showed that the plebiscite has aroused great interest amongst the population, since, in a country like Chile, where abstentionism is very high, 78.2 percent said they would definitely vote, and only 6.7 percent said they would not go to the polls.

Regarding the reasons why Chile needs a new Constitution, respondents stated first the need to reduce existing inequalities, followed by a better health system, education, pensions, putting an end to the Constitution imposed during the Pinochet dictatorship, and greater social justice, in that order.