Chile approves equal marriage in a historic vote in Congress

Chile became this Tuesday the eighth country of Latin America in legalizing equal marriage after passing a historic bill that allows unions between people of the same sex, one of the greatest wishes of the LGTBI community in the country.

In an unprecedented and cross-cutting event, Congress gave the green light to a bill that had been under discussion for more than four years and that as soon as it is enacted will allow two people of the same sex to marry.

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With this decision, Chile follows in the wake of other Latin American countries that recently approved it, such as Costa Rica or Ecuador, and others that have been contemplating this right for years, such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and several states of Mexico.

“It is a historical, revolutionary fact that changes the history of the country and ends with the systematic abuse of certain types of families”exclaimed Ramón Gómez, in charge of Human Rights of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh), an emblematic organization that has been fighting for this right for years.

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Thanks to the approval of this law, which will be celebrated in the afternoon with a march in the central Plaza Italia in Santiago,

WITH TRANSVERSAL SUPPORT

The proposal garnered broad support in both chambers:

Among the opposition, the support was resounding and within the ruling party (center-right) it was majority, partly due to the push that the project brought after the current president, the right-wing Sebastián Piñera, showed himself in favor and urged their discussion on last july.

“How nice to see how Chilean citizens are freer. For the freedom to marry whoever you want, without anyone imposing on you what love is or how a family should be ”, celebrated the left-wing deputy Gonzalo Winter, Frente Amplio (FA).

Stop judging the marriage between couples of the same sex as “bad or suspicious” is a “background cultural change” that the country must make, sentenced right-wing senator Rodrigo Galilea (National Renovation).

Despite recent advances in social rights, Chile It is considered one of the most conservative countries in the region, especially due to its strong Catholic tradition.

Divorce was not legalized until 2004 and the right to abortion has only been contemplated since 2017 in three specific cases (fetal unviability, risk of the mother’s life or rape).

“Today is a happy day for Chile. We advance in the recognition of all and in embracing diversity “, said the government spokesman, Jaime Bellolio.

FOUR YEARS OF OBSTACLES

The equal marriage initiative was launched in 2017 thanks to the impulse of former socialist president Michelle Bachelet (2014-2018) and was stagnant for almost four years.

In a surprising turn of events, Piñera said this year that the time had come “to approve it, but the announcement fell like a jug of cold water among the most conservative sectors of the right, which in recent months managed to extend their discussion.

It has been the social rights platforms that have promoted its processing and have fought to include aspects such as eliminating homosexuality as a cause of wrongful divorce, recognizing unions contracted abroad or defining the order of the children’s surnames.

Isabel Amor, director of the Iguales Foundation, another of the most important LTGBI platforms, celebrated the project and added that it is a “symbol” in the fight against violence suffered by people from the collective of sexual and gender diversity.

Until now and since 2015, homosexual people could only unite under the legal figure of the Civil Union Agreement (AUC), which does not recognize filiative rights.

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