(MENAFN) Sunday morning in her village of La Ligua, central Chile, Lorena Donaire awoke crying with happiness. She had planned to commemorate a new chapter in Chilean history that placed the environment as a top priority because she was confident that her country would vote to adopt the proposal for a new constitution.
Donaire, 50, was born and raised in La Ligua, which is in the drought-stricken region of Petorca. The proposal's adoption represented the realization of the rights the environmental rights activist and representative for the water rights organization Modatima had campaigned for her entire life.
Many of her Modatima coworkers were chosen to create the document, which established historic environmental regulations and elevated access to water to the status of a fundamental right.
But as soon as the results were announced, her happy tears turned to sad ones. A majority of Chileans (61.9%) voted against the text, decisively rejecting the goals of a plan that branded itself as feminized, environmentally friendly, and revolutionary.
Donaire informed a news agency that she feels “abandoned and very sad” but will not lose hope. “We will continue to fight for the little water Chile has left.”
In October 2019, when millions of Chileans took to the streets to protest the country's soaring living costs and an out-of-touch political class, demands for a new constitution began to surface.
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