Proposed Constitution Divides Chileans

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In cities around Chile, bookstores and street sellers are busy with people who are buying a purple book. The purple book promises – or, depending on the reader's opinion, threatens – to change Chilean government and society.

The book contains the country's proposed new constitution. Its 388 articles aim to take the place of the current constitution. The current constitution was approved in 1980 under the military rule of Augusto Pinochet.

The proposed constitution deals with social rights, gender¹, politics and the environment.

Chileans will vote to approve or reject the new constitution on September 4. While voters supported the plan to write a new constitution two years ago, public opinion studies suggest the final version may be rejected. Support has dropped because of fears that some of the proposals are too radical².

In Santiago, the capital city, long lines have been forming with people looking to buy the recently-finalized document. It is a bright purple book with a Chilean flag on it. Street sellers, or vendors⁴, said they were selling many copies a day.

"The money's here now," said Alfredo Lopez, a street vendor³.

Lopez has not read the document and does not plan to. But sales have been strong - Lopez says he's been selling 70 to 80 copies a day.

Observers say the new constitution is the result of public anger over inequality. It has become a subject of debate between two sides. On one side are those who want to protect Chile's current economic model aimed at growth. On the other side are those seeking a social ideal that includes everyone.

Chile's current economic model helped drive many years of development. But economic debates have become stronger with rising inflation⁵ and a slowing economy. At the same time, an important export for Chile, copper⁶, has dropped. In addition, the exchange value of Chile's money is at an all-time low.

"Conversations heat up quickly, people are really tense," said Isidora Varela, age 25.

"Not everyone's going to read the constitutional text because the information is super dense," she said. Varela said she had seen a lot of misinformation and "fake⁷ news" about the proposed constitution spreading on social media.

Mireya Davila, a public policy professor at the University of Chile, said both sides still have time to win over voters. An important issue will be how effectively the approve campaign communicates what the document says.

"I think an informed vote is key, but I don't know if that's going to happen," Davila said.

Carlos Bastias, another seller, said heated arguments and fights regularly break out between customers.

"I think that in a few days I'm going to have to open up a (boxing) ring here and be a referee⁸," Bastias said.

He added that he has read about half of the new constitution but avoids giving his opinion to buyers.

"This (debate) is only going to escalate⁹," Bastias said, noting that many point to Venezuela's 1999 constitution as a warning sign of the dangers of change.

"People are worried because it could lift up a country, but you know, it's destroyed others."

Words in This Story

radical – adj. very new and different from what is traditional or ordinary

ideal –n. an idea that is believed to be perfect or really good

conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people : the act of talking in an informal way

customer – n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

referee – n. a person who makes sure that players act according to the rules of a game or sport

escalate –v. to become worse or to make (something) worse or more severe

1 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

4 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 inflation   

n.胀大，夸张，通货膨胀

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• The inflation of the airbed took several minutes.给空气床垫充气花了几分钟时间。

6 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

7 fake   

vt.伪造，造假，假装；n.假货，赝品

参考例句：

• He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
• You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。

8 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

9 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。