Chile’s plunging birth rate may foreshadow future in U.S. : NPR

Santiago, Chile – Chilean sociologist Martina Yopo Diaz, a recent mother and scholar with a PhD from the University of Cambridge, asserts that declining birth rates are a permanent global shift, rendering government pro-natalist policies largely ineffective. Yopo Diaz, whose research focuses on gender, reproduction, and time, argues in her book “Motherhood: Current Challenges of Gender, Family, and Fertility” that societal views on women’s lives and the prioritization of motherhood have fundamentally changed.

“Today being a woman doesn’t necessarily mean to be a mother and having a family doesn’t necessarily mean to have children,” Yopo Diaz stated, emphasizing that these societal changes require adaptation rather than reversal.

Yopo Diaz also expressed concern that the rise of far-right movements globally could lead to the increased promotion of pro-natalist agendas if the complexities of declining fertility are not thoroughly examined. She noted that while feminism has championed women’s autonomy, it has not fully addressed the implications of motherhood within this evolving landscape.

Younger generations in Chile echo Yopo Diaz’s sentiment. Macarena Lagos, 19, told NPR that government incentives for parenting are unlikely to sway her personal decisions. “No matter what the government does, it’s still my decision, my own,” Lagos said. “And no matter what the government does, I don’t think my decision would change.” Many women interviewed expressed apprehension about government policies that might infringe upon their newfound freedoms and skepticism about the efficacy of such measures in altering their family planning choices.