This article examines debates referring to three legal reforms that took place between 1990 and 2004 and which had fundamental results regarding the legal configuration of the Chilean family. Taking legislative discourse as the basis of our analysis, I argue that it took a long and complex process of political negotiation to build a broader concept of what family is. The process brought notions of gender, individual autonomy and what constitutes a "good society" into play. The results of this process, if on the one hand signifying a move forward in terms of gender equality, also favor the traditional model of family- dual parent, based on heterosexual marriage - as the family form recognized by the State. In this regard, women's citizenship rights continue to be subordinate to traditional gender roles, in which women are seen as responsible for caring for the vulnerable and for sustaining the family as a site of social reproduction Methodologically speaking, we carry out a a qualitative analysis of official records of Parliamentary debates for the three laws under discussion. Analysis has been complemented by in-depth interviews with legislators and members of the Executive who took part in debates within the National Congress.
Family; Gender; Chilean Law; Women's Rights