| Part of theLGBTQ rights series |
Recognized |
Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage |
See also
|
Notes
|
 LGBTQ portal |
Same-sex marriage has been legal inChile since 10 March 2022.[1][2] The path to legalization began in June 2021 whenPresidentSebastián Piñera announced his administration's intention to sponsor a bill for this cause.[3][4] TheChilean Senate passed the legislation on 21 July 2021, followed by theChamber of Deputies on 23 November 2021. Due to disagreements between the two chambers of theNational Congress on certain aspects of the bill, a mixed commission was formed to resolve these issues. A unified version of the bill was approved on 7 December 2021.[5][6] President Piñera signed it into law on 9 December,[7] and it was published in the country'sofficial gazette on 10 December. The law took effect 90 days later, and the first same-sex marriages occurred on 10 March 2022.[8] Chile was the sixth country inSouth America,[a] the seventh inLatin America and the29th in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.[9]
Before this, Chile recognized same-sex couples throughcivil unions, known inSpanish asacuerdo de unión civil (AUC), which were available to all couples regardless ofsexual orientation and provided some, but not all, of the rights ofmarriage. The first civil unions were registered on 22 October 2015.
In theJanuary 2006 presidential campaign, both major candidates, center-leftMichelle Bachelet and center-rightSebastián Piñera, voiced their support forcivil unions, but theCatholic Church and many members of theNational Congress were opposed.[10]
In October 2009, a civil union bill was introduced to the National Congress, but it failed to pass.[11]
During his run-up to the presidency in 2009, Piñera vowed to enddiscrimination based onsexual orientation and included a same-sex couple in one of his televised campaign ads.[12]
In June 2010, SenatorAndrés Allamand (National Renewal) submitted a bill to Congress to permit a "Common Life Agreement" (Spanish:Acuerdo de Vida en Común), which would have been open to both different-sex and same-sex couples.[13] On 3 August 2010, SenatorFulvio Rossi (Socialist Party) introduced a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.[14] During the first week of September 2010, several senators backing the marriage bill said they would withdraw their support after talks with members of theEvangelical Church, and instead announced support for the civil union bill introduced by Senator Allamand.
In May 2011, President Piñera said he was in favor of an upcoming bill to legalize a form of civil union; his stated intent was to "protect and safeguard [...] the dignity of those couples, whether of the opposite or even the same sex".[15] Piñera introduced a bill to Congress in August 2011 allowing registeredcohabitation, known asAcuerdo de Vida en Pareja ("Life Partnership Agreement"). This would give unmarried partners many of the rights granted only to married couples, such asinheritance and certainsocial welfare andhealth care benefits.[16] Under Piñera's legislation, same-sex couples would be able to register their civil partnership with a notary.[17] On 10 April 2013, the civil union bill was approved by the Senate's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on a 4–1 vote.[18][19] On 7 January 2014, theSenate voted 28–6 in favor,[20] but the bill was not voted on by theChamber of Deputies before the end of the parliamentary session in March 2014, despite it being a priority issue for Piñera.
When Michelle Bachelet again took office as president in March 2014, she made passing Piñera's civil union bill a priority.[21] On 5 August 2014, a Senate committee approved the civil union bill.[22] On 7 October 2014, the bill was passed by the Senate, and moved to the Chamber of Deputies.[23]
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The name of the bill was changed to "Civil Union Pact" (Spanish:Pacto de Unión Civil) on 17 December, and Congress reiterated its intention to hold a final vote by January 2015.[24] On 6 January 2015, a provision recognizing foreign marriages as civil unions was approved by the Constitution Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, while a clause recognizingadoption rights was rejected. As the bill was amended, it went to a final vote in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.[25] On 13 January, the Chamber of Deputies reinserted the adoption provision, and on 20 January 2015 it approved the bill on a vote of 86 to 23 with 2 abstentions. The Senate rejected all the Chamber's amendments on 27 January, so the bill was sent to a joint committee of both houses.[26] The committee reached an agreement with regard to the text of the bill and changed the name to "Civil Union Agreement" (Spanish:Acuerdo de Unión Civil,pronounced[aˈkweɾðoðewˈnjonsiˈβil]) the same day. The bill was passed in both houses on 28 January 2015.[27][28] Several lawmakers asked theConstitutional Court to verify the bill's constitutionality, which was upheld by the court in a ruling released on 6 April 2015.[29] The bill was signed into law by President Bachelet on 13 April 2015.[30][31] It was published in theDiario Oficial de la República de Chile on 21 April and took effect on 22 October 2015.[32][33][34]
Chile's civil union provisions enable couples to claimpension benefits andinherit property if their civil partner dies, as well as more easily co-own property and make medical decisions for one another.[35] It does not allow couples to adopt. All disputes and conflicts involving civil partners are dealt with by thefamily courts (tribunales de familia).[b] The government estimated at the time of the law going into effect that some two million cohabiting couples could have their unions legally recognized. In the day following the law going into effect, approximately 1,600 couples had signed up to register their unions.[40] The first same-sex civil union onEaster Island was performed for Petero Avaka Tukuone and Aru Pate Hotus, aMapuche-Rapa Nui couple, in November 2015.[41]
On 1 December 2016, the Chamber of Deputies unanimously passed a bill (with six abstentions) granting civil partners five days'marriage leave, similarly to newly married couples.[42][43][44] The bill was approved by the Senate in October 2017 in a unanimous 15–0 vote.[45] The law took effect on 8 November 2017.[46]
31,098 couples entered into civil unions between 2015 and 2019, of which 21% were same-sex couples (3,310 female couples and 3,271 male couples). This proportion was higher between October and December 2015 when 28.7% of civil unions were to same-sex couples. However, in the following months, this number declined and stabilized to around 20%.[47]
Between 2016 and 2019, 248,567 marriages and 22,951 civil unions were performed in Chile,[47] of which 5,950 were to same-sex couples.[47] Most civil unions were performed in theSantiago Metropolitan Region (44%) followed by theValparaíso Region (14%). Considering population, the region with the largest number of civil unions wasAntofagasta (7.6 per 10,000 inhabitants), while the lowest wasAraucanía (2.0 per 10,000 inhabitants).[47] The Metropolitan Region also had the largest share of same-sex civil unions compared to opposite-sex unions (27%), followed byO'Higgins (22%) and Valparaíso (20%). On the other hand,Aysén had the lowest share of same-sex unions (8%), followed byLos Ríos (11%),Coquimbo (12%) andMagallanes (12%).[47]
| Year | Same-sex unions | Opposite-sex unions | Total unions | % same-sex | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | Total | ||||
| 2015[48] | 274 | 357 | 631 | 1,566 | 2,197 | 28.72% |
| 2016[49] | 744 | 854 | 1,598 | 5,676 | 7,274 | 21.97% |
| 2017[50] | 662 | 613 | 1,275 | 4,947 | 6,222 | 20.49% |
| 2018[51] | 740 | 743 | 1,483 | 5,773 | 7,256 | 20.44% |
| 2019[47] | 851 | 743 | 1,594 | 6,555 | 8,149 | 19.56% |
| 2020[52] | 583 | 529 | 1,112 | 4,216 | 5,328 | 20.87% |
| 2021[53] | 989 | 814 | 1,803 | 6,858 | 8,661 | 20.82% |
| 2022[54] | 545 | 464 | 1,009 | 7,908 | 8,917 | 11.32% |
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The first attempts to legalizesame-sex marriage in Chile occurred after the ban was legally challenged in different national and international courts in the early 2010s. TheConstitutional Court of Chile heardoral arguments on 28 July 2011 regarding the constitutionality of article 102 of the Civil Code, which at the time banned same-sex marriage,[55] but ruled in a 9–1 vote on 3 November that the ban was not unconstitutional.[56] Alawsuit challenging the same-sex marriage ban as a violation of theAmerican Convention on Human Rights and Chile's international obligations was also filed with theInter-American Court of Human Rights in 2012. The Piñera Government expressed its opposition to the suit in 2013.
On 10 June 2016, the Third Chamber of the Court of Appeals of Santiago rejected another lawsuit filed by the LGBT groupMOVILH. The court ruled that as Chilean legislation did not permit same-sex marriages, the civil registry could not marry same-sex couples. It also held that opening marriage to same-sex couples was a decision for Congress and not for the courts.[57]
In December 2018, theSupreme Court of Chile recognizedmarriage as a fundamental right, in a case legal experts suggested may pave the way for same-sex marriage to be legalized in Chile.[58] Shortly after the ruling was issued, a same-sex couple challenged the same-sex marriage ban in court.[59] On 26 April 2019, after the Supreme Court referred the case back to the Santiago Court of Appeals due to a probable constitutional violation, the latter ruled that denying the couple amarriage license was not illegal.[60] The plaintiffsappealed the ruling to the Supreme Court;[61] however, the appeal was not accepted.
Even though some minor presidential candidates had announced their support for same-sex marriage,Michelle Bachelet was the first major candidate to declare her support in the lead up to theNovember 2013 presidential elections. On 11 April 2013, she announced her intention to legalize same-sex marriage if elected president. Bachelet, who had previously been president of Chile between 2006 and 2010, won the election on 15 December 2013.[62] After Bachelet's inauguration in March 2014, MOVILH announced that they would seek an amicable solution to the lawsuit presented to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2012. On 10 December 2014, a group of senators from various parties presented a bill legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption to theNational Congress of Chile, with the support of MOVILH.[63] On 17 February 2015, lawyers representing the government and MOVILH met to discuss the case, and the government announced that they would drop their opposition to same-sex marriage.[64] A formal agreement between the two parties and theInter-American Commission of Human Rights was signed in April 2015.[64]
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On 1 July 2016, the government announced that it would begin consultations on a same-sex marriage bill in September 2016, with the aim of finalizing it by mid-2017, and said it viewed a ban on same-sex marriage as a "human rights violation".[65][66] President Bachelet stated before aUnited Nations General Assembly panel in September 2016 that the Chilean Government would submit a same-sex marriage bill to Congress "in the first half of 2017."[67] In June 2017, she announced in a speech to Congress that the bill would be introduced in the second half of 2017.[68] It was later confirmed that the bill would grant married same-sex couples equaladoption rights.[69] The bill was introduced to Congress on 28 August 2017,[70][71] before being submitted to the Senate on 5 September and referred to the Constitution, Legislation, Justice and Regulation Committee.[72][73]
On 19 November 2017, Chile heldparliamentary elections and the first round of the presidential election. According to newspaperLa Tercera, a majority of the newly elected Chamber of Deputies and Senate was in favor of same-sex marriage.[74][75] The Senate's Constitution, Legislation, Justice, and Regulation Committee began examining the bill on 27 November 2017.[76][77] Two days prior, an estimated 100,000 people marched inSantiago in favor of the bill's passage. Participants included many lawmakers and diplomats, including presidential candidateAlejandro Guillier.[78]
On 17 December 2017,Sebastián Piñera was re-elected president of Chile.[79] Though personally opposed to same-sex marriage at the time, Piñera said he would respect the April 2015 agreement with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, saying that "Chile's international commitments will be fulfilled".[80] In the wake of a January 2018 Inter-American Court of Human Rightsadvisory opinion that parties to the American Convention on Human Rights should grant same-sex couples "accession to all existing domestic legal systems of family registration, including marriage, along with all rights that derive from marriage", MOVILH urged Piñera to implement and abide by the decision.[81] In early March 2018, a spokesperson for the Piñera Administration announced that passing the same-sex marriage bill would not be a priority, but that the Piñera Government would notveto or oppose it.[80][82] In early April 2018, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights summoned the Chilean Government to a meeting to discuss the status of the measures included in the agreement reached in April 2015. The meeting took place in theDominican Republic on 3 May 2018. The government informed the Commission that it would continue to respect the agreement.[83][84] On 17 May 2018, theInternational Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, Piñera signed the agreement and pledged to continue the work of the previous administration in legalizing same-sex marriage.[85]
Committee debate on the same-sex marriage bill resumed on 9 January 2019, and continued in May.[86][87] In May 2019, Senate PresidentJaime Quintana said that the bill, along with a bill permitting same-sex couples to adopt, would have priority in the Senate agenda.[88][89] In July 2019, upon assuming his role as chairman of the Constitution Committee, SenatorFelipe Harboe began fast-tracking the procedure of the same-sex marriage bill, as opposition parties announced their intention to push for debate in Congress before going into recess in February 2020.[90] On 15 January 2020, the bill was approved atfirst reading in the Senate by 22 votes to 16.[91] In October 2020, it was reported that the Constitution Committee had approved 29 of the articles in the bill, with 27 remaining to be approved.[92]
On 1 June 2021, during his last annual address to the National Congress, Piñera announced that his government would support the bill and place urgency on bringing it forward to a vote.[3][4] On 21 July 2021, the Senate approved the legislation by 28 votes to 14. The bill then moved to the Chamber of Deputies.[93][94] On 13 October 2021, the bill was approved by the Constitution Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, and on 2 November 2021 it was approved by the Finance Committee of the Chamber. On 23 November 2021, the Chamber of Deputies approved an amended version by 101 votes to 30.[95] As it was modified by the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate Constitution Committee decided to send the bill to a joint committee of both houses.[96][97][98][99] On 6 December, the joint committee voted 7–2 in favor of the Chamber version of the bill with modifications, including a compromise provision that spouses oftransgender people wishing to change their name andlegal gender should first be consulted as to whether they wish to seek adivorce, which was criticized by MOVILH as "transphobic".[100]
| Party | Voted for | Voted against | Abstained | Absent (Did not vote) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Democratic Union | – | – | ||
| National Renewal | – | – | ||
| Socialist Party | – | – | – | |
| Party for Democracy | – | – | – | |
| Christian Democratic Party | – | – | – | |
| Democratic Revolution | – | – | – | |
| Evópoli | – | – | – | |
| Progressive Party | – | – | – | |
| Independent | – | – | ||
| Total | 28 | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| 65.1% | 32.6% | 0.0% | 2.3% |
Finally, the joint committee's bill was passed by both houses on 7 December 2021, with the Senate voting 21–8 with 3 absentions and the Chamber voting 82–20 with 2 absentions.[5][6] The bill was signed by Piñera on 9 December.[7] It was published in theDiario Oficial de la República de Chile on 10 December, and took effect 90 days later (i.e. 10 March 2022).[1] The first same-sex marriage in Chile was performed inSantiago on 10 March between Javier Silva and Jaime Nazar.[103][104] Article 102 of the Civil Code was amended to read:Marriage is a solemn, indissoluble contract by which two persons are united for life, in order to live together, to procreate, and to help each other.[c]
| Party | Voted for | Voted against | Abstained | Absent (Did not vote) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Democratic Union | – | |||
| National Renewal | – | |||
| Socialist Party | – | – | ||
| Party for Democracy | – | – | ||
| Christian Democratic Party | – | – | ||
| Democratic Revolution | – | – | – | |
| Evópoli | – | – | – | |
| Progressive Party | – | – | – | |
| Independent | – | |||
| Total | 21 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| 48.8% | 18.6% | 7.0% | 25.6% |
In response to proposed legislation to recognize same-sex unions and potential legal battles brewing in the Constitutional Court, members of theIndependent Democrat Union (UDI) introduced aconstitutional amendment on 11 August 2011 seeking to define marriage as the "union of a man and a woman".[110] The amendment was not brought to a vote. On 16 June 2016, two UDI MPs introduced a bill to amend theConstitution of Chile to ban same-sex marriage and prohibit same-sex couples fromadopting.[111] The measure was not successful.
In October 2020, Chile voted in anational plebiscite to rewrite its constitution, and in aMay 2021 election voters elected the members of theConstitutional Convention, the body tasked with writing the new constitution.[112] LGBT groups were hopeful that same-sex marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples would be enshrined in this new constitution,[113] particularly as the right-wing governing coalitionChile Vamos had failed to reach the third of members needed to veto in the Convention. The proposed constitution, which eventually did not address same-sex marriage explicitly, was rejected in areferendum in September 2022.
In the first month following the entry into force of the marriage law, 170 same-sex couples had married in Chile, of which 101 were lesbian couples.[114] By February 10, 2023, 2,254 same-sex marriages had been performed in Chile; 1,227 between two women and 1,027 between two men.[115] 5,049 same-sex marriages had taken place by June 2024, mostly in theSantiago Metropolitan Region.[116] Reports in December 2024 determined that 6,281 same-sex couples had married in Chile since the implementation of the law.[117]
In 2011, theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Chile expressed its support for same-sex civil unions.[118] The church defines marriage as "a union of two people in love based on mutual trust and fidelity" without making distinction as to the sex of the contracting parties. Clergy are free to decide whether to performblessings for same-sex couples.[119] TheLutheran Church in Chile similarly defines marriages as "a union of two people in love" and offers blessings to couples.[120] SomeJewish groups also bless same-sex unions.[121] On 25 February 2023, a same-sex marriage was held according to the rites of theMapuche religion. The couple, Viviana Burgos Valenzuela and Rosa Salamanca Conalef, had held a civil marriage two days earlier in the town of Villa Almagro inNueva Imperial. The religious ceremony was officiated by aMapuche spiritual leader (machi) in a native forest.[122]
TheCatholic Church opposes same-sex marriage and does not allow its priests to officiate at such marriages. In December 2023, theHoly See publishedFiducia supplicans, a declaration allowingCatholic priests tobless couples who are not considered to bemarried according to church teaching, including the blessing of same-sex couples.[123] In March 2004,Archbishop of SantiagoFrancisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa expressed opposition to same-sex marriage but called for regulating same-sex unions "in some way"; "One can understand that homosexuals can form stable relationships, that they want to have acommunity property, but that is not marriage. It must be given another name."[124]
An April 2009 poll concluded that only 33.2% ofChileans were in favor of allowing same-sex couples to marry, with 65.2% opposed.[125] However, support among young people was much higher: according to a study by the National Youth Institute of Chile, 56% of people aged between 15 and 29 supported same-sex marriage, while 51.3% supported adoption by same-sex couples.[126][127]
A July 2011 nationwide CEP (Centro de Estudios Públicos) poll found that 52% of Chileans were in favor of granting legal rights to same-sex unions: 18% supported grantingcivil marriage to same-sex couples, while 34% preferred giving same-sex couples a "legal union". When the question was slightly rephrased, 57% of Chileans were against same-sex marriage where "the same rights as a heterosexual couple are guaranteed" and 27% in favor, while support for a "legal union" of same-sex couples was higher at 35%, with 57% against. In all questions, support for same-sex unions was higher among the younger and better educated. In the case of the adoption of children by a lesbian couple, 24% were in favor and 61% against. Support was lower for male gay couples: 20% in favor and 64% against.[128]
An August 2012 poll byRadio Cooperativa – Imaginaccion found that 54.9% of Chileans supported same-sex marriage, while 40.7% were opposed.[129] APew Research Center survey conducted the following year showed that 46% of Chileans supported same-sex marriage, while 42% were opposed.[130][131] According to a 2014 survey by the Chilean pollsterCadem Plaza Pública, 55% of Chileans were in favor of same-sex marriage, whilst 39% were against.[132] A poll carried out in September 2015 by the same polling organization found that 60% of Chileans supported same-sex marriage, whereas opposition was at 36%.[133] The organization's 2016 survey found 61% support and 36% opposition.[134] A further poll carried out in July 2017 by the same organization showed that support stood at 61% and opposition at 32%.[135]
A 2016 International Civic and Citizenship Education Study poll, published in April 2018, found that 79% of Chilean eighth graders (13–14-year-olds) supported same-sex marriage. The study also included four otherLatin American countries, of which Chile had the highest level of support:Mexico was at 78%,Colombia at 63%,Peru at 48%, and theDominican Republic at 38%. Chile's support was a 21% increase from 2009.[136]
The 2017 AmericasBarometer showed that 59% of Chileans supported same-sex marriage.[137] A poll conducted forRadio Cooperativa – Imaginaccion between 24 and 27 August 2017 found that 62.2% of Chileans supported same-sex marriage, while 34.8% were against. In the same poll, 47% supported adoption by same-sex couples, while 51.2% were opposed.[138] A poll carried out byCadem Plaza Pública in April 2018 put support for same-sex marriage at 64% and opposition at 34%, while 2% were unsure or had refused to answer.[139] Support and opposition to adoption rights both stood at 49%. In 2019, the organization showed that support for same-sex marriage had increased to 66%, with 54% also in favor of permitting same-sex couples to adopt.[140] In 2022, support for same-sex marriage reached 82% and support for adoption rights reached 70%.[141]
De ser aprobada en el Senado, la ley comenzará a regir noventa días después de su publicación en el Diario Oficial.
1.2.2.4. Series Matrimonios" and "1.2.2.5 Series AUC
