Writing BBC News Mundo1 horaSource of the image, ReutersChile decided this Sunday to widely reject the proposal for a new Constitution. With 99.4% of the tables counted and a historic participation of more than 12 million people, the “rejection” obtained almost 62% of votes for 38% of the “approval”. The victory of the “rejection” thus keeps open the process of constitutional change that had been presented as a solution to resolve the tensions of the social outbreak of 2019. After approving the drafting of a new Constitution (in 2020) and elect the members of the Convention to write it (in 2021), the country finally decided through a mandatory plebiscite this Sunday to reject the proposed Magna Carta. With the victory of the “rejection”, the 1980 Constitution, drafted during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) and partially reformed in democracy, it will remain in force despite the fact that the overwhelming majority (almost 80%) voted for its replacement. The result of the Convention, made up equally of women and men, was a text consisting of 178 pages, 388 articles and 54 transitory norms that was widely rejected. in the country, which in 2020 voted by an overwhelming majority of almost 80% to change the 1980 Constitution, a solution that was born as a response to the social outbreak of 2019. Image source, Getty Images The government coalition led by President Gabriel Boric had proposed changes even if the Constitution was approved, in an attempt to mitigate the fears of supporters of “rejection” before certain proposals in the text that they saw as “radical”. Boric, who defended “approval”, called for this Monday to all the parties to give continuity to the “constituent process”. The victory of the “rejection” and the magnitude of the difference represents a defeat for the government six months into the presidency. “The Chilean people were not satisfied with the proposals and have decided to clearly reject them. This decision requires the institutions to work with more commitment and dialogue until we reach a proposal that gives confidence and unites us as a country, “said Boric, elected as president in December 2021, on Sunday night, confirming a result that he described as “forceful”. “Let’s not forget why we got here: the discomfort is still latent and we cannot forget it,” added Boric, who promised to lead “a new itinerary” to reach a text “that manages to interpret a large majority of citizens.” the political forces to put Chile ahead and to agree as soon as possible on a term for a new constitutional process. The national Congress must be the main protagonist,” he added and announced changes in his government. Image source, EPA “The decision of provide us with a new Constitution is still in force,” said the communist deputy Karol Cariola after knowing the results. For their part, the supporters of the “rejection” celebrated the victory. “The proposal harmed the homeland,” said José Antonio Kast, the right-wing politician who lost the second round of the elections in December 2021 against Boric and who is one of the spokesmen for the “rejection.” “The constituent process has failed,” he added. The “rejection” of the text had gathered transv support ersals from different political sectors, concerned about issues such as plurinationality, given that the constitutional text recognized the autonomy of indigenous peoples, or the fear of an alleged loss of the right to home ownership, among other things. It is now expected that There is some kind of agreement between political sectors to modify the current text or propose the drafting of another new version of the Magna Carta. In one of the first reactions, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, from the left and very close to Boric, lamented the triumph of the “rejection” and wrote on twitter “Pinochet revived.” Now you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our app and activate it so you don’t miss out on our best content.