The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. September 2, 2022 Chileans Rally Ahead of Sunday Referendum on Replacing Pinochet-Era Constitution -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Chile, thousands of people rallied in the capital Santiago Thursday evening as campaigns both for and against a new constitution came to a close ahead of a national referendum on Sunday. Voters will decide whether to replace the constitution created under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, who came to power in a 1973 coup supported by the United States. Chile's new draft constitution enshrines human rights and social programs, including free universal access to healthcare, higher education and reproductive rights. This is Carlos Díaz, president of the Chilean Teachers College. Carlos Díaz: "The teachers of Chile on the 4th of September will vote 'I approve,' because we will finally have a constitution where education is conceived as a fundamental human right." .