SÃO PAULO  Chile formally recognized an independent state of Palestine on Friday, becoming the seventh South American country to take such a step in the past month.

The government of President Sebastián Piñera had been under growing pressure from the nation’s large Palestinian population, more than 300,000, to recognize a Palestinian state. But the fact that so many countries in Latin America have done so at the same time underscores the unwillingness in the region to wait until Israel and the Palestinians resolve their disputes over territory and other issues, political analysts said.

The decisions by Latin American governments come in response to an effort by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to seek such recognition following the breakdown in negotiations.

It was the announcement by Brazil on Dec. 3 that seemed to inspire other countries in the region to follow suit. Brazil’s president at the time, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who left office last week, had tried to insert his nation into the Middle East peace negotiations and had forged warm relations with Iran, creating tensions with the United States.