Recap of Cachando Chile on the Air radio show on Santiago Radio: Wednesday, November 12, 2009
Tonight’s “Cachando Chile on the Air” session on Santiago Radio explored the concept of family… let’s face it; my case of Baby Brain is not going to wear off any time soon, so it seemed like a fitting topic.
We approached the subject from a number of different angles, from demographics, marriage laws, gay marriage, birth control, inheritance, divorce, number of children, and religion’s role in personal decisions and public-policy on families, as well has family holiday celebrations, and also touched on peripheral topics such as the cost of education in Chile. And through in some personal theories, of course!
I will be writing some of these topics up in more detail, but in the meantime, as promised on the air, here are some links to the topics discussed:
Demographics:
For those who may not know this, the CIA does more than snoop around where they aren’t wanted and keep secret files about you—they also have plenty of info that they share with anyone who’s interested.
Check out the CIA World Fact Book for solid (and thankfully up-to-date) info on any country that happens to interest you. Chile, for example: CIA World Fact Book on Chile, which is updated through July 2009, for information on Chile’s Geography, People (demographics), Government, Economy, Communications, Transportation, Military, Transnational Issues, and more.
More on this issue coming up “Al Tiro“!! but for a few quick details:
Chile’s population: 16,601,707 (July 2009 estimate)
Population growth rate: 0.881%
Urban population: 88%
Life expectancy: 77.34 years (total population)
Marriage in Chile:
I’ll be writing more on marriage in the future, but for now:
Chilean law requires a “civil marriage,” performed by a public official (justice of the peace), and may or may not be followed by a religious ceremony.
Chile’s Library of Congress explains that Chile’s Civil Code defines Civil Matrimony as:
“…a solemn contract through which a man and a woman join together indissolubly, for their entire lives, to live together, procreate, and provide mutual aid to each other.” (art.102 of the Library of Congress explanation of Civil Matrimony in Chile (Spanish)
In other words, the law specifies that marriage:
- Is between a man and a woman (no gay marriage in Chile)
- Is til death do ye part (although divorce was just recently made legal in 2004)
- Takes place under one roof (the couple is expected to live together)
- Children are expected
- Is for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health (the love and cherish part is not so explicit here)
Chilean marriage also has its own system of prenuptial agreements built in, and when asking for the appointment for their civil wedding the couple must stipulate one of 3 options for how their belongings will be divided.
For more information, you can download the entire Ley del Registro Civil (Spanish)
Click here for more on the issue of Gay Marriage in Chile (Spanish)
Chilean Inheritance Laws:
This is a topic that all foreigners should familiarize themselves with. We are planning to invite an expert onto the show to cover this topic in more detail**
Basically, the law says that upon a person’s death, half of his or her estate goes to the spouse, a quarter is divided among the children of the deceased, and the remaining quarter can be designated for distribution as the deceased saw fit.
By the way, couples that live together but who are not married, are not entitled to receive an inheritance.
Click here for the Library of Congress explanation of Testamentos (Wills) (Spanish)
Also check out the Library of Congress FAQs on Inheritance (Spanish)
** Be sure to our Interview with tax attorney Dario Romero: “Is the Heir a Parent? Demystifying Chilean Inheritance Laws“
Family Rights & Responsibilities:
And finally, we wrapped up with my own “Baby Theory,” which I explained in a previous post named The Dance Card’s Full: Group Loyalty in Chile.
Cachando Chile: Reflections on Chilean Culture 