Chileans Reject New Constitution in Blow to Leftist Leader
- Proposal spurned by 62% to 38% in a referendum Sunday
- Debate likely to shift to second attempt to draft new charter
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Chileans rejected a new constitution in a referendum Sunday, dealing a major blow to a three-year campaign to overhaul politics and temper free-market policies while handing a stinging defeat to the presidency of Gabriel Boric.
With 99% of ballots counted, 62% voted against the proposed charter drawn up over the past year by a popularly-elected convention, with just 38% in favor. While polls anticipated that the current more business-friendly framework would be kept in place, they failed to predict the landslide result. Chilean markets are likely to rally Monday.