Chilean Constitution

COMMENTARY The vote to retain Chile's Pinochet-era constitution wasn't a vote to retain Pinochet. It was a vote to block the leftist overreach Pinochet exploited.

Two years ago, Chileans called — loudly — for a new, more progressive charter. But on Sunday they punted it — and issued Latin America's radical left a warning, too.

The constitution would have put a focus on social issues and gender parity, enshrine rights for Chile's Indigenous population and put the environment and climate change center stage.

If approved, Chile's new constitution would be one of the most progressive in the Americas. But polls indicate Chileans may consider it too progressive.

Latin America's most prosperous country was long considered one of its most conservative. But is Chile now becoming one of the region's most progressive?