International
After referendum rout, Chile leader pursues quest for new constitution
AFP | by Paulina ABRAMOVICH / Paula BUSTAMANTE
President Gabriel Boric vowed Monday to press ahead with efforts to replace Chile’s dictatorship-era constitution, hours after voters rejected a first draft in a setback to his leftist reform agenda.
Boric, 36, met the rejection by 61.8 percent of voters with “humility,” he said, while adding there was “latent discontent” against deep-rooted social inequality in the country.
Sunday’s “No” majority vote — by a far larger margin than projected by pollsters — was the latest in a wave of recent political and social showdowns in the country.
It started with protests in 2019 for a fairer, more equal society, which led to a referendum in 2020 in which 80 percent voted for replacing the constitution.
A left-leaning convention was elected last year to do the drafting work, and in December, Boric took office after beating a right-wing rival by campaigning against Chile’s neoliberal economic model — protected by the constitution.
The constitution, which dates from the rule of dictator Augusto Pinochet, is widely blamed for making companies and the elite richer at the expense of the poor, working classes.
Among the proposals that proved most controversial, the text would have entrenched the right to elective abortion and guaranteed stronger protections for Indigenous rights.
Try again
After the overwhelming rejection, Boric called on politicians to “put Chile ahead of any legitimate differences and agree as soon as possible on the deadlines and parameters for a new constitutional process.”
He invited party representatives to talks starting Monday, but none of the right-wing opposition have indicated whether they would attend.
According to analysts, most Chileans and political parties want a new constitution, but not the one they got to vote on.
One exception is far-right politician Jose Antonio Kast — Boric’s vanquished rival in December elections — who is against a constitutional change.
“The right is split among the more moderate sectors, which have committed to changes and reforms… and the most extreme sectors, which I believe are not ready for that change,” said analyst Cecilia Osorio of the University of Chile.
The referendum was “disappointing” for public servant Carola, who said the draft was “very progressive on environmental issues” and women’s rights.
“It is a bit difficult” to accept the rejection, she told AFP.
But Pablo Valdez, a 43-year-old lawyer among those celebrating the rejection, said the outcome made him “hopeful” that “tensions will be reduced.”
The Chilean Stock Exchange opened 3.65 percent higher Monday and the peso strengthened 3.2 percent to 885.52 to the US dollar.
Boric, Chile’s youngest-ever president painted by his detractors as a “communist”, had won his election with promises creating rights-driven “welfare state” in one of the world’s most unequal countries.
‘Pinochet is alive’
Proposals to protect the environment and natural resources such as water — which some say is exploited by private mining companies — garnered much attention in the constitutional debate.
The new constitution would also have overhauled Chile’s Congress, while requiring women to hold at least half of positions in public institutions.
Many had feared the new text would generate instability and uncertainty, which could harm the economy.
But supporters believed it would prompt necessary changes in a conservative country marked by social and ethnic tensions.
Although the constitution has undergone several reforms since its adoption in 1980, it retains the stigma of having been introduced during the military dictatorship of Pinochet.
The draft new text was drawn up by an elected, left-leaning constitutional convention made up of 154 members, split equally between men and women and with 17 places reserved for Indigenous people.
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, an ally of Boric, tweeted after the rejection on Monday that: “Pinochet is alive in some political sectors of the Americas.”
The European Union for its part, said it took “note of the commitment expressed by President Boric and across the political spectrum on the need to pursue the constitutional process.”
International
María Corina Machado: “Venezuela is closer than ever to regaining freedom”
Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado declared on Friday that Venezuela is facing “the most decisive moment in its contemporary history” and that the country is “closer than ever to regaining freedom and democracy.”
Her remarks were delivered via video message during the 81st General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Machado emphasized that the situation in Venezuela remains “extremely serious” due to censorship and repression imposed by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, particularly in a global context where “society is built on information.”
She warned that authoritarian governments manipulate public opinion through “psychological warfare” and disinformation, while shutting down media outlets and persecuting journalists.
“The only way to topple these regimes is through the constant, relentless, and unrestricted preaching of the truth. It is absolutely true that the truth will set us free,” she stated.
International
Millions to join “No Kings” march in U.S. amid Trump’s growing authoritarian backlash
Millions of Americans are set to take to the streets this Saturday in more than 2,500 cities across the United States for the second edition of the “No Kings” march, a massive protest organized by progressive groups and activists against what they describe as the authoritarian direction of President Donald Trump’s second administration.
The demonstration, expected to be the largest since Trump’s return to power, comes amid a federal government shutdown, further heightening political tensions in Washington.
From the White House, press secretary Abigail Jackson dismissed the event with a brief “Who cares?”, while senior Republican leaders labeled the march as an act of “hate against America.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Democrats of blocking negotiations to reopen the government and claimed they were “unable to stand up to their raging base.” He also linked the protests to “supporters of Hamas and the Antifa terrorist group.”
President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News, blamed Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer for the legislative deadlock.
“He’s got nothing else left to do. Everyone’s hitting him hard,” Trump said.
The organizers — a coalition of Democratic leaders and more than 200 civil society and labor groups — argue that the Republican refusal to reopen the government is a clear symptom of the authoritarianism they seek to denounce.
The main rally will take place in Washington, D.C., which has been under heightened National Guard surveillance for weeks, officially to control rising crime. However, organizers contend the deployment is aimed at intimidating and silencing dissent.
Protesters have been urged to wear yellow, a reference to the 2019 pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.
“With this color, we align ourselves with a historical context and remind the world that power must come from the people, not from crowns,” organizers stated on their website.
In addition to the capital, large marches are scheduled in New York, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, and Honolulu, as well as abroad in London, Paris, Frankfurt, and several Spanish cities — Madrid (Puerta del Sol), Barcelona (Plaça Sant Jaume), Seville (Plaza Nueva), and Málaga (Plaza de la Marina).
During the first edition, held in June, the movement gathered around five million people, a figure organizers expect to surpass this weekend.
International
Petro expresses concern over fatal shooting during mass protests in Lima
Colombian President Gustavo Petro voiced his “concern” on Thursday over recent events in Peru, following the death of a protester reportedly shot during a massive demonstration in Lima against the government and Congress.
“I must express my concern over the events in Peru. A young artist has been killed in citizens’ protests,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Colombian leader also noted that in Peru, “a popularly elected president remains imprisoned without conviction,” referring to Pedro Castillo, who led the country from July 2021 to December 2022 until he was removed by Congress following a failed attempted coup.
“This is a blatant violation of the American Convention on Human Rights,” Petro stated, adding, “I hope Peru seeks social and political dialogue to legitimize its public institutions.”
On Wednesday, Peru experienced widespread protests in several cities, with the largest demonstration in Lima in recent years, driven by citizens’ concerns over corruption and public insecurity.
During the capital’s mobilization, the Ombudsman’s Office confirmed the death of Eduardo Ruiz, 32, and reported clashes that left over 100 injured, including 78 police officers and 24 protesters, as well as ten arrests.
The Attorney General’s Office, investigating Ruiz’s death “in the context of serious human rights violations,” confirmed that the protester was shot.
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