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| - Polls closed in Chile Sunday after two days of voting for a body of 155 people that will rewrite the country's dictatorship-era constitution many blame for deep societal inequalities. A new constitution was a key demand of protesters who took to the streets in 2019 in weeks of demonstrations that left several dozen dead, but paved the way for what some label as Chile's most important election since its return to democracy 31 years ago. "This election will define the constitution that will guide us for the next 40 or 50 years," said political scientist Claudio Fuentes of the Diego Portales University. "A new Chile is at stake." Chile's existing constitution dates from 1980, enacted at the height of dictator Augusto Pinochet's 1973-1990 rule. It limits state intervention, promotes private enterprise in all sectors of the economy -- including education, health and pensions -- and is widely blamed for blocking equitable progress in a country ranked as one of the most unequal among advanced economies. This inequality was one of the main drivers of October 2019 protests which resulted in the government agreeing a month later to a referendum on a new constitution. That plebiscite, initially scheduled for April 2020 but delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, took place on October 25 last year. Eighty percent voted for a new constitution to be drawn up by a body of elected members. On Sunday, Guillermo Guzman, a 57-year-old architect, said he voted "in the hope of getting change for the country... So that we can build a new constitution that is very different to the one left to us by the dictatorship". Polls say about 60 percent of Chileans blame the Pinochet-era constitution for creating a system that benefits only the elites. "It is like we are really starting to get rid of 'Pinocho', his shadow, his legacy, everything," added Carmela Urquiza, a 62-year-old civil servant, using a nickname given to the dictator by his detractors. Some 14 million people were eligible to vote on Saturday and Sunday for 155 members of the "constitutional convention". A total of 1,373 candidates were in the running, including actors, writers, teachers, social workers, lawyers and traditional politicians. On the first day of voting, only a fifth of the 14.9 million eligible voters had turned out. Analysts have said the election would be a battle between candidates from parties on the left and the right, with independents not expected to draw any meaningful support. Parties on the left broadly seek greater state control of mineral and other natural resources -- mostly privatized since the dictatorship -- and more public spending on education, health, pensions and social welfare. Those on the right largely defend the capitalist, free-market system they thank for Chile's decades of economic growth. In a world first, half the candidates are -- by design -- women. The 155-member drafting group, which will have nine months to come up with a new founding law for Chile, will also be composed 50 percent of women, and 17 seats are reserved for representatives of indigenous communities. It will have nine months do draft a new constitution, which will be approved or rejected next year in a mandatory national vote. Chile has the highest per capita income and the third most multimillionaires in Latin America. But the working and even upper-middle classes live with heavy debt, often to pay for schooling and private pensions. Voters also elected regional governors, mayors and local councilors -- usually a litmus test for presidential elections, next due in November. The vote was held over two days to reduce crowding amid a Covid-19 outbreak that has resulted in more than 1.2 million recorded cases and nearly 30,000 reported deaths in the country of 19 million people. pa-pb/dga/msa/gma/yow/mlr/jm
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