October 5, 1988 was a key day in the history of Chile. That day, a national plebiscite was voted to decide whether the military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet should continue until 1997. Of the more than seven million people who voted, the majority opted for no, which meant the departure of Pinochet the following year. . The call for democratic elections in 1989 to elect a president and congressmen put an end to a decade and a half of dictatorship and began the period of return to democracy.
The road to the plebiscite
Two plebiscites had already been called in 1978 and 1980 to consult citizen support for the legitimacy of the Pinochet regime. In both, the dictator’s candidacy won by wide margins, but the processes were accused of being irregular, which is why they did not satisfy the opponents’ demands for democracy. In subsequent years, social discontent increased. Multiple popular protests denounced the political persecution, human rights violations and the economic crisis that had attacked Chile since 1982. Four years later, a failed attack against Pinochet It was followed by strong repression by the regime.
By calling a plebiscite, Pinochet sought to obtain the validation of his Government, which would be legitimized for another eight years. This was the concern of the opponents, who considered that participating legitimized the period governed by the Military Junta since the coup d’état against Salvador Allende in 1973. However, it was an opportunity to end the Pinochet regime, since the last three transitional provisions of the 1980 Constitution established that, unlike previous consultations, The result of the plebiscite would be binding and would determine the continuity of the then president.
Despite the doubts, up to seventeen opposition political forces decided to form a coalition for the plebiscite, the Coalition of Parties for No, led by Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin. His supporters mobilized door to door throughout Chile, uniting disparate ideologies—such as socialism or Christian democracy itself—to form a democratic front against Pinochet. For the first time in fifteen years, messages contrary to the military regime could be televised, although the National Television Council maintained censorship of some content favorable to the no.
The end of the dictatorship
The election day of October 5 was lived with uncertainty. A blackout the night before fueled rumors of a possible boycott of the process. The United States Government received information indicating that supporters of Pinochet could carry out violent acts to generate a climate of tension that would force the referendum to be cancelled. Then-US President Ronald Reagan, partly through British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, warned Pinochet’s government, which promised to accept the results of the vote if it lost.
More than seven million Chileans went to the polls, for a massive turnout of 97.5%. Despite initial fears, the plebiscite included electoral records, national and international observation, and opposition campaigns. The Government took several hours to recognize the result while public television broadcast cartoons, but the regime ended up accepting defeat, with 56% of votes in favor of no. The next day, a newspaper opened with the headline “He ran alone and came second!”, in reference to Pinochet’s defeat.
After seventeen years of military dictatorship, presidential elections were called on December 14, 1989, in which Patricio Aylwin was elected, beginning the transition towards democracy in Chile. With the aim of granting democratic legitimacy to the 1980 Constitution, it went through a series of reforms that were ratified through another plebiscite in 1989, agreed between the ruling party and the opposition. However, after three decades of stability, new social demands and nonconformism against the legacy of the dictatorship in the still current Constitution and institutions led to a social movement in 2019 that gave way to a new constituent project.