"The eruption of violence and protests in Chile during the last weeks has shown that the political and economic system continues to suffocate freedom and deny and reject demands for equality and social justice", Liberal International vice president and chairperson of the LI human rights committee, Astrid Thors, has said.

As more countries embark on delicate debates surrounding medically assisted dying, they have a duty to consider their national rights’ charters but also the liberal values set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Growing numbers of people are considering whether it is principled for governments to forbid competent adults from dying with dignity. Our answer is that it is not.

Having secured the support for a resolution on assisted dying at LI’s 200th executive committee meeting in Berlin last June, Tuesday 7th August marked a historic moment for Chile and a milestone for Chilean Liberals, as the Parliamentary Committee on Healthcare approved legislation of a bill on Euthanasia, presented by Liberal International Partido Liberal de Chile (LI full member). Leader of the PLC, Vlado Mirosevic MP, described the result as a “huge step forward for freedom in Chile.”

On 28 August, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet presented a bill to modify an article of the Civil Code to allow and recognize same-sex marriage in the country. Currently article 102 of the Civil Code indicates that marriage is a solemn contract by which a man and a woman are united indissolubly and for life, with the purpose of living together, to procreate and to help each other.

Adding to the regional pressure facing Nicolás Maduro, the political leadership of Liberal Party of Chile (LPC - LI full member) has issued a series of press statements in recent days condemning the authoritarian actions of the embattled Venezuelan president,