Chilean President Gabriel Boric has received a draft of a new constitution, the fate of which voters will decide in a mandatory referendum on September 4.

President Gabriel Boric: “As president, it is my duty to call upon a constitutional referendum as I receive this proposal today. That is why we came. It will once again be the people who have the last word on their destiny.” 

If approved, the new document will replace the Constitution created under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, who came to power in a 1973 coup supported by the United States. The new constitution enshrines human rights and social programs, including free universal access to healthcare, higher education and reproductive rights, as well as more robust environmental safeguards and policies to promote gender and racial equity. It also for the first time recognizes Chile’s Indigenous peoples and offers restitution for historically Indigenous lands.