The Hindu : Chileans await divorce law

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004

International

International

Chileans await divorce law

SANTIAGO CENTRO, MARCH 22. Chile is one of the last few countries where divorce is still illegal. But not for much longer. This month, a bill to allow it was finally passed. Three Chileans tell Jen Ross why they cannot wait for the new law to take effect

Idling at a red light on Christmas Day 1999, Alicia Quinonez Bustamante's life flashed before her. Separated four years ago from her husband, her estranged husband suddenly appeared in front of her car, crowbar in hand. In an instant, he had smashed the windshield and was screaming death threats. Alicia fled while a bystander restrained her raving husband. She found refuge in a home close by and later filed charges with police.

That was the last time Alicia saw her husband, Italo Medina Cuevas. But she is still married under Chilean law. ``I wil be the first in line (for divorce) come September,'' says Alicia, a softly spoken 50-year-old. She married in 1975, just after graduating from university, and the problems started right away. ``To be honest, it was always bad from the day we married,'' she says. —

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