Censorship comes under the spotlight .
By Mark Mulligan in Santiago Earthquake-prone Chile may have been spared its usual summertime wave of seismic activity, but recent events in the world of art and entertainment are shaking this long jagged strip of a country to its very foundations. Once happily recognised as perhaps the most conservative of Latin countries, in less than two months Chile has opened its airwaves and cable ducts to the Playboy soft porn channel, elected a twice-married agnostic as its president and watched a beautiful young actress shower on the streets of Santiago. The fact that the reform bill last year passed through the lower house with broad cross-party support suggests, according to Mr Mladinic, that Chileans are tired of being told what they can and cannot watch. According to many, Mr Lagos, a self-confessed socialist intellectual, reflects the changing times in a country where saints days are celebrated like birthdays, divorce is technically illegal and the average person reads one book a year. He's never been to church, and has no plans to, as far as I know.