From Arrau to Longueira, right-wing figures celebrate four years since Chile’s 2022 rejection

Four years after Chileans rejected the proposed constitution in the September 4, 2022 plebiscite, right-wing figures gathered in central Santiago to mark what they described as a defining political moment.

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Countries that forget institutional crises are ultimately condemned to repeat them.

The dinner, titled “Four Years of Rejection: A Story to Tell, a Future to Build,” was organized by Chamber of Deputies President Jorge Alessandri of the Independent Democratic Union. Legislators, former constitutional convention members and other figures from the sector attended, including former minister Pablo Longueira and Security Minister Martín Arrau.

Alessandri said the date should remain part of Chile’s institutional memory. “Countries that forget institutional crises are ultimately condemned to repeat them,” he said. He added that he did not want Chile to face another “refounding” project four years later and said the gathering should remind people, especially young people, what had been at stake on September 4, 2022.

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I do not want Chile to be risking its future four years from now with a refounding project.

Arrau said one of the main lessons was that some sectors needed to stop remaining silent, develop good ideas and participate actively. He said the process had cost Chile in division, uncertainty, investment, employment and insecurity. The country should move on, he said, but with the lesson learned.

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One of the great lessons was that certain sectors have to learn not to remain silent, to have good ideas and to be on the field.