Fodors Chile

Over the past decade, women in Chile have become increasingly influential in both the government and the private sector. When the countrys first female President, Michelle Bachelet, began her first term in 2006, she launched a campaign to promote gender equality in Chile and named women to a number of influential posts in her cabinet. Since her reelection in December 2013, she has proposed legislation on womens sexual reproductive rights and same-sex marriage, which is considered groundbreaking for this predominantly Catholic nation. Despite many advances, salaries for men and women remain unequal in Chile, and men typically occupy the most influential positions, particularly in the private sector.

Two government policies have had a particularly important impact on women and the family in Chile. In November 2004, divorce became legal for the first time. Then, in 2006, state-run hospitals were given clearance to distribute the morning-after pill free of charge. Before the passage of the law legalizing divorce, Chile was one of the few countries in the world to prohibit this practice, which resulted in many Chileans forming new families without legally divorcing. Those who could afford it had their marriages annulled. These new policies have directly challenged the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in Chile (about 60% of Chileans are Catholic), and were resisted by the powerful conservative sectors of the Chilean population.

Due in part to its overall economic success, Chilean identity is in flux. While Chileans are proud of their nationality and celebrate the fiestas patrias (independence-day holidays) with fervor, they also increasingly value cultural and material imports from abroad. Many Chileans flock to malls to buy the latest technological toys, and SUVs are common, despite high gas prices. Many members of the expanding middle class are moving to the suburbs and sending their children to private, bilingual schools; incorporating English words into conversations and having coffee at Starbucks have become status symbols.

Other sectors of the Chilean population, however, resist these influences, including members of the political left and indigenous groups. A number of popular Chilean artists have also commented on Chiles increasingly materialistic and outward-looking culture, including writer Alberto Fuguet and musicians Los Chancho en Piedra and Joe Vasconcellos.

An interesting example of these tensions in Chilean identity is the annual pre-Christmas charity event, the Teletn. Modeled on telethons in the United States, the Teletn is billed as 27 hours of love and presided over by Chilean TV personality Don Francisco. Despite its growing commercializationcompanies showing off with big donations to strengthen their brandingthe event is remarkable not only because it raises large sums of money for children with disabilities, but also because almost all Chileans watch it and contribute funds, despite class, ethnicity, or geographic differences. The Teletn is truly an expression of modern chilenidad (Chileanism).