Chile’s New Constitution Likely to Be Agreed Upon by Moderates

  • Unified political right on track to obtain near 40% of seats
  • New charter to be drafted following intense social unrest

An election official prepares a ballot at a polling station during the national referendum in Santiago, Chile, on Sunday, Oct. 25 2020.

Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg
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Chile’s Constitutional Assembly is shaping up to be far from the radical hotbed some investors had feared, as a split political left increases the odds that fringe candidates will be shut out from the rewrite of the nation’s charter.

Parties open to changing the nation’s economic rules failed to coalesce behind one list of candidates for the body that will draft the constitution. Meanwhile, center-right aspirants opposed to a major overhaul have done just that, according to the final list of contenders published by Chile’s electoral office Saturday, creating a path to obtaining over one-third of seats and the power to block major reforms.