Chile’s President Sebastian Piñera hailed the results of a national referendum held to scrap a dictatorship-era constitution as a “triumph” for democracy.
Preliminary results late Sunday showed Chileans overwhelmingly backed drafting a new constitution. With nearly 87% of votes counted, more than 78% voted in favor of the measure, according to the country’s electoral service.
A new governing charter was a central demand of energetic anti-government demonstrations over economic inequality that erupted last year.
“This triumph of democracy should fill us with joy and hope,” Piñera said Sunday night. “Up until now, the constitution has divided us. From now onward, we should all collaborate so that the new constitution is a great mark of unity, of stability, and the future.”
Next April, Chileans will vote on a constitutional assembly to draft the document.
The current four-decade-old constitution was drafted during the military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Its opponents say the document lacks legitimacy and harkens back to a dark and violent period in Chilean history.
Opponents say that more than 3,000 people died as a consequence of political violence under Pinochet’s rule. He died at age 91 in 2006, not having been convicted of any crimes.
Large crowds gathered in Santiago’s Plaza Italia on Sunday evening to celebrate the referendum result with banners like “Adiós, General,” images from CNN affiliate CNN Chile showed.
Dubbed “one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies” by the World Bank, Chile has been mired in deep-seated anger over government policies seen as favoring the rich. The OECD reported in 2018 that the income inequality gap was more than 65% wider than the organization’s average.
Protests erupted in October last year as Chileans demonstrated over economic inequalities, living costs and rising debt in a country.
Rioting and looting resulted in billions of dollars in damage and losses to the country’s businesses and infrastructure. The unrest saw the military take to the streets for the first time since the rule of Pinochet.
CNN’s Rafael Romo contributed to this report
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.