Roughly one thousand people took to the streets of Santiago, Chile on Saturday in support of the nation's ban on gay marriage, the Spanish news agency EFE reported.

The march, organized by the Christian conservative groups Transforma Chile and Muevete Chile, stepped off at Plaza Italia and ended at the Palacio de la Moneda.

“Today the Chilean constitution and the law defines marriage as a union between a man and woman, but this is daily threatened by the influence of the homosexual lobby that day by day take more force to lobby Parliament,” the coalition said on its website.

Chile President Sebastian Pinera campaigned on a promise to back a civil unions bill for gay couples. The country's largest gay rights group, MOVILH, has called out the president for his unkept promise. Earlier this month, however, Pinera announced he was prepared to back a bill that would allow gay and straight couples who have lived together for more than one year to enter a legal contract called the Non-Marital Cohabitation Agreement.

The topic of legal recognition for gay couples has reverberated throughout Latin American since Argentina and the city-state of Mexico City legalized gay marriage last year.

(Related: Colombian Congress ordered to recognize gay unions.)