美国国家公共电台 NPR--Chile rejects its new constitution

Chile rejects its new constitution

Transcript¹

Chile has voted a resounding² NO to a proposed constitution that would have put a focus on social issues and gender³ parity⁴, enshrine rights for the indigenous⁵ population, and address climate change.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In Chile, a special assembly has spent the past two years writing a new constitution, and it was supposed to replace the current one that dates back to the country's military dictatorship. But yesterday, voters soundly rejected the new constitution in a referendum and then celebrated⁶ in the streets of Santiago.

(SOUNDBITE OF CAR HORNS HONKING⁷, CHEERING)

MARTIN: NPR's John Otis is just back from a reporting trip to Chile, and he joins us now. Good morning, John.

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE⁸: Good morning. It's good to be here.

MARTIN: So people clearly excited. Tell us what this rejection⁹ means.

OTIS: Well, the rejection means a huge blow for Chile's president, Gabriel Boric. He was a really big supporter of this new constitution. But nearly 62% of Chileans voted against it, compared to just 38% in favor. In fact, the outcome became so clear so quickly that the campaign for approval conceded defeat less than two hours after the polls closed.

MARTIN: Wow. I mean, they clearly didn't have the right political temperature on how this was going to go over with voters. Why was it so controversial, this new constitution?

OTIS: You know, some have called it the world's most progressive constitution. For example, it would have vastly expanded rights for Indigenous groups and created more protections for the environment. It would have made - it would have mandated¹⁰ universal health care, as well as the right to decent housing, education and pensions, and it calls for gender parity in government and legalized abortion¹¹. But Chile is actually quite a conservative place. Married couples couldn't even get divorced in Chile until 2004.

Some of this new constitution might have hurt the economy because, for example, stricter environmental rules might have put the brakes on the copper¹² and lithium mining industries. It would have meant higher taxes to pay for a lot of these new government benefits included in the constitution. There was also a disinformation campaign that spread lies about it. And finally, you know, the best constitutions are usually short and to the point, but this one was really long. It had 388 articles, and it was - just ended up being too much for voters to digest.

MARTIN: Yeah. So if you could just step back for a moment, explain what was behind this movement to draft a new constitution in the first place?

OTIS: Well, there were two reasons. First, anti-government protests back in 2019 nearly brought down Chile's government. To calm the waters and to address protesters' concerns about poverty and inequality, a special assembly began writing a new constitution. The other reason is that the current one was written back in 1980. That's when dictator Augusto Pinochet ruled Chile. Democracy was restored in 1990. And when most countries go through such momentous¹³ political changes, they write new rules of the game, new governing guidelines, but Chile never really got around to that until now.

MARTIN: So, I mean, what happens? Is the effort to change the constitution dead at this point?

OTIS: It's not dead. President Boric went on Chilean TV last night and claimed that the effort to forge a new constitution isn't over. Let's take a listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT GABRIEL BORIC: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: So Boric is saying here that he plans to meet with Congress and civil society in the coming days to try to start this process all over again. This was expected because in spite of last night's rejection, polls show that Chileans don't like their Pinochet-era constitution either. But Boric has said whoever drafts the next version of the constitution, they're going to have to come up with something that unites Chileans rather than divides them, like this one did.

MARTIN: John Otis reporting for NPR. Thanks, John.

OTIS: Thanks a lot for having me.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。

3 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。

4 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。

5 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

6 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

7 honking   

v.（使）发出雁叫似的声音，鸣（喇叭），按（喇叭）( honk的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Flocks of honking geese flew past. 雁群嗷嗷地飞过。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

10 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

11 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

12 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。

13 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。