President Gabriel Boric vowed on Monday to step up efforts to replace Chile’s dictatorship-era constitution, hours after voters rejected an initial draft in a setback to his left-wing reform agenda.

Boric, 36, met the rejection of 61.8 percent of voters with “humility,” he said, while adding that there was “latent dissatisfaction” against deep-rooted social inequality in the country.

Sunday’s “No” majority vote — by a far larger margin than pollsters had predicted — was the latest in a spate of recent political and social showdowns in the country.

It began with protests in 2019 for a fairer, more equal society that led to a 2020 referendum in which 80 percent voted to replace the constitution.

A left-wing convention was elected last year to do the drafting work, and in December Boric took office after defeating a right-wing rival by campaigning against Chile’s neoliberal economic model – protected by the constitution.

The constitution, which dates back to the days of dictator Augusto Pinochet, is widely accused of enriching corporations and the elite at the expense of the poor working class.

Among the proposals that proved to be the most controversial, the text would have enshrined the right to voluntary abortion and guaranteed stronger protections for indigenous peoples’ rights.

After the overwhelming rejection, Boric urged politicians to “put Chile above any legitimate differences and agree on the timelines and parameters for a new constitutional process as soon as possible”.

He invited party officials to talks starting Monday, but none of the right-wing opposition has announced their attendance.

According to analysts, most Chileans and political parties want a new constitution, but not the one they had to vote on.

One exception is far-right politician Jose Antonio Kast – Boric’s defeated rival in December’s elections – who opposes constitutional change.

“The right is divided between the more moderate sectors, which are committed to change and reform… and the most extreme sectors, which I believe are not ready for these changes,” said University of Chile analyst Cecilia Osorio.

The referendum was “disappointing” for official Carola, who said the draft was “very progressive on environmental issues” and women’s rights.

“It’s a bit difficult” to accept the cancellation, she told the AFP news agency.

But Pablo Valdez, a 43-year-old lawyer who celebrated the rejection, said the result makes him “hopeful” that “tensions will be eased”.

Chile’s stock market opened 3.65 percent higher on Monday and the peso rose 3.2 percent to 885.52 against the US dollar.

Boric, Chile’s youngest-ever president, who was dubbed a “communist” by his critics, won his election on a promise to create a right-wing “welfare state” in one of the world’s most unequal countries.

Proposals to protect the environment and natural resources like water, which some say are being exploited by private mining companies, attracted much attention in the constitutional debate.

The new constitution would also have revised the Chilean Congress, requiring women to hold at least half of the positions in public institutions.

Many had feared that the new text would lead to instability and uncertainty, which could hurt the economy.

However, proponents believed it would bring about necessary changes in a conservative country marred by social and ethnic tensions.

Although the constitution has undergone several reforms since its passage in 1980, it retains the stigma of having been introduced during Pinochet’s military dictatorship.

The draft of the new text was drafted by an elected, left-leaning constitutional convention composed of 154 members, split equally between men and women, with 17 seats reserved for indigenous peoples.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, an ally of Boric, tweeted Monday after the cancellation: “Pinochet lives in some political sectors of America.”

For its part, the European Union said it “notes the commitment expressed by President Boric and across the political spectrum to proceed with the constitutional process”.