Organizers say an estimated 50,000 people in Santiago, the capital of the South American country nation of Chile, marched on Saturday ahead of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on Sunday.

Marching through downtown Santiago, Marcha Por La Igualdad (March for Equality) participants called on the country, which is lagging behind its more LGBT-friendly neighbors, to recognise the rights of its LGBTs citizens.

Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil and Colombia and Ecuador already recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions with full rights for same-sex couples to adopt children.

Chile curently allows civil unions for gay and lesbian couples but falls short of full marriage rights. Same-sex couples, singles nor unmarried heterosexual couples are allowed to adopt children.

A spokesperson for the march organizer Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh) told AFP that marchers are also calling on the government to do more to support transgender people, which he said face the greatest risk among Chile’s LGBT community.

‘Today, it is important to make clear that the Chilean government urgently needs to recognize the rights of the trans community, which is the most vulnerable,’ he said.

Chile is considered one of the most socially conservative countries in the region, only having legalized divorce in 2004.