Among Uncertainty, Fear and Reluctance to Change: The Basis of the ‘Rejection’ to the New Constitution in Chile’s Big Business Before the Social Outbreak of 2019

Abstract

The institutional response to the social outbreak of 18/O in Chile was the National Referendum for a new Constitution, which had an overwhelming result in favor of approving the constitutional change. However, within the minority group that voted against the change, there is part of the large Chilean business community. This article seeks to show the foundations of the main business leaders of two employers' organizations in Chile: the National Society of Agriculture and the Sociedad de Fomento Fabril, who rejected the idea of a new Constitution years before the social outbreak, as a result of the Constitutional Process promoted between 2015 and 2016 by the government of former President Michelle Bachelet. From 40 interviews with members of the business elite, it is concluded that uncertainty, fear and aversion support this conservative stance with a complex base, marked by its institutional trust and fear of the creation of a new political order. The analysis is interesting, because possibly the magnitude of the social outbreak and its consequences, managed to change the public positioning of some business leaders.