Montreal Chilean community demands right to vote in historic referendum

The Chilean Consulate in Montreal will be the site of two demonstrations today to demand the right to vote in a historic referendum. Montrealers from Chile are attempting to secure a location to vote in person on Oct. 25, when their people will choose whether or not to create a new constitution.

There is also a petition demanding that the Quebec government allow a socially distanced voting process — the authorization for Chilean citizens in Montreal to vote remotely at the Best Western Ville-Marie Hotel was withdrawn due to COVID-19 health measures.

The Chilean referendum comes after a year of unrest in the country:

“Since October 18, 2019, according to the National Institute of Human Rights, in Chile we have counted 34 dead, 113,989 detainees, 3,838 wounded, 460 one-eyed (sic), 257 victims of sexual violence and 617 victims of torture. These grim figures were recorded in a context of social revolt, the biggest in the history of Chile. Indeed, on October 18, 2019, Chilean citizens seized the streets at the cost of their own lives in order to challenge the social and economic inequalities arising from a constitution created and established under the violent Pinochet dictatorship in 1980.“

—From the change.org petition

The two protests, organized by Chile despertó Montreal (Chile Woke Up Montreal), are happening on Wednesday, Oct. 14 (at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.) at 1010 Sherbrooke W. For more details, please visit the Facebook event page.

The same group has organized another demonstration in the Quartier des Spectacles on Saturday, Oct. 18 to mark one year since the Chilean crisis began.

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