One of the first major issues that has been installed in the Chilean presidential campaign is how to deal with the birth crisis that the country is going through. The fertility rate has been decreasing rapidly until reaching 1.16 children average per woman, one of the lowest worldwide. Less and fewer women are mothers and those who are, postpone the decision and have fewer children. Last week, the National Statistics Institute revealed that, according to Census 2024, only 56.6% of women between 15 and 49 years have children; A historical minimum that follows a downward trend decades ago. Among the reasons mentioned by experts to explain this phenomenon are the progressive participation of women in higher education and the labor market, the high economic costs of life and gender inequalities in parenting. Also the need to access a treatment to engender.
Based on the proposals already announced and the answers to the question about what they would do to boost birth, the country collects the first guidelines of the presidential candidates most supported by the surveys: Evelyn Matthei, from Chile Vamos, of the traditional right; Republican José Antonio Kast, on the extreme right; Carolina Tohá, of democratic socialism, the traditional left; Gonzalo Winter, of the Frente Amplio, the party of President Gabriel Boric; and Jeannete Jara, of the Communist Party. They clarify that the details will be known soon and that there may be modifications during the campaign. This newspaper tried unsuccessfully to contact Johannes Kaiser, president of the National Libertarian Party.
Evelyn Matthei, from Chile Vamos
The proposals focus on access to housing and social aid, care and fertility support network. They contemplate a pillar of support to the lease focused on “young families” in “vulnerability situation” with children under two years of age, that the housing of public interest – enrolled with state support – incorporates into the middle sectors and incorporate criteria of progressivity to access to subsidies.
It also undertakes to unlock the bill in Congress so that the Cuna Chamber extends to all working women, eliminating the restriction according to company size, and a co -responsibility seal for companies that support labor and family reconciliation, with benefits in state programs. Expand the guarantees of the GES – a regime that ensures the coverage of 87 diseases or health problems for both the Fonasa (public) and Isapres (private) – to fertility programs. It currently includes assisted fertilization treatment of low and high complexity.
Carolina Tohá, of democratic socialism
Among the proposals announced on Tuesday by the candidate of democratic socialism, the extension of the exclusive and inalienable male parental postnatal stands out -currently five days; The proposal does not mention deadlines-, the creation of a National Accompaniment System of Minors after school hours, and prioritize the approval of the Universal Cuna Project in Congress. It also proposes the incorporation of endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome into the GES and “boost housing policies” for “young families” -do not detail which. To improve women’s labor perspectives, it undertakes, among other things, to strengthen school reintegration for mothers and to create incentives to women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem).
Tohá announced on Tuesday an interdisciplinary team to address this problem, composed, among others, by Martina Yopo, Sociologist, academic of the Institute of Sociology of the Catholic University, expert in maternity, family and gender; Fernando Zegers, gynecologist, pioneer in reproductive health and fertility; and Alejandra Abufhele, economist and expert in social demography, early childhood, inequality and poverty. This group will work on the proposals that will be incorporated into the Tohá government program.
José Antonio Kast, of the Republican Party
The Republican candidate, the first to publicize his initial plan, proposes a universal assignment for born son: a million Chilean pesos (about 1,000 dollars) to the mother at the time of birth and another million deposited to a savings account in the name of the son. According to the Republican team, the measure has an approximate cost of 380 million dollars. “Analyze and propose the viability” of tax exemptions to the rent of families, implemented in a staggered manner and considering criteria as number of children and sections of taxes. Also restructure the various existing bonds and increase the universe of beneficiaries -it is not specified how or how many. To support early childhood, Kast focuses on carrying out the Universal Cun [Junta Nacional de Jardines Infantiles] and integr and VTF [Vía Transferencia de Fondos, programa que financia y supervisa jardines infantiles]so that there is an integrated and coordinated network.
Jeannette Jara, of the Communist Party and Humanist Action
The candidate argues that in the decision not to be a mother, she is associated with an inefficient response of the State, for the fear of women to lose their spaces of participation due to motherhood, it should be proposed: guarantee universal access to rooms and children’s gardens for girls; strengthen copacentality measures promoting equal and transferable parental licenses between mothers and fathers; and promote the active participation of men in raising and unpaid domestic work, through communication and education campaigns.
It also proposes to advance in female employment measures and salary equity to discourage birth as a factor that delay the professional and labor development of women; generate a differentiated tariff in the Junaeb scholarship for women who are mothers during their studies; deepen labor protection laws and work-family conciliation, strengthening teleworking to fathers and mothers with children with greater care needs; and guarantee reproductive autonomy and sexual health, so that the decision of motherhood is taken autonomously by women.
Gonzalo Winter, from the Frente Amplio
The candidate of the wide front candidate is deepening co-responsibility policies to strengthen the autonomy of those who take care and policies that promote independence and work-family conciliation. It proposes the creation of the Chile Plan is born with you, which contemplates measures aimed at “ensuring that reproduction and parenting are the result of a free and desired decision, and not of social pressures or economic deficiencies.”
Among them, it is contemplated to deepen the National Care System, universalize the Cuna Chamber, progressively increase the male postnatal to five months, to promote a bill that decreases the voluntary interruption of pregnancy and recognizes the autonomy of women and pregnant persons to decide on whether to be mothers or not, without causes, within the first 14 weeks of gestation. In addition, expand the coverage of assisted reproduction therapies (tra) through a law that guarantees its universal access and the creation of a National Gametos bank; and promote comprehensive reform to the adoption system, shortening judicial times, without “arbitrary discrimination” for adoptive adults, and recognizing the best interests of the child as a pillar of the process.
