Mexico, Central America

LGBT rights in Mexico have expanded in recent years, in keeping with worldwide legal trends. Homosexuality has been legal since the adoption of the French Penal Code during occupation during 1862-1867. Until 1998, laws against public immorality or indecency could be used against homosexual acts. The Mexican Constitution was amended in 2001 to prohibit discrimination based, between other factors, on sexual orientation. A federal anti-discrimination law to protect sexual minorities was passed in 2003. The law also created a National Council to enforce the law. Otherwise, political parties tend to ignore LGBT rights issues, and few LGBT Mexicans run for public office. The age of consent is 18. In November 2006, civil unions (Sociedad de Convivencia) were legalized in Mexico City for same-sex and different-sex couples, offering almost the same legal rights as marriage within its city limits, minus adoption rights. The states of Colima, Michoacán, Jalisco, Guerrero, State of Mexico, Puebla and Veracruz are also considering similar laws. Gay life thrives in Mexico in its large cities and resorts. The center of the gay community in Mexico City is the Zona Rosa, near the city center. Puerto Vallarta, Monterrey, Tijuana and Guadalajara are large cosmopolitan cities that have a growing gay scene. However, the situation outside of these centers tends to be more homophobic.

 

News & Reports:

 

Hundreds Marry as Mexico Celebrates Marriage Equality, Gender ID Law

The nation continues to make strides in equality. Jubilant transgender folks and same-sex couples celebrated in Mexico City on Friday. The Associated Press reported 120 couples were able to marry under the slogan, “Hand in hand, we march with pride,” a representative of Mexico’s capital city said in a statement. Many transgender people were also… Read more »

Hundreds Marry as Mexico Celebrates Marriage Equality, Gender ID Law

The nation continues to make strides in equality. Jubilant transgender folks and same-sex couples celebrated in Mexico City on Friday. The Associated Press reported 120 couples were able to marry under the slogan, “Hand in hand, we march with pride,” a representative of Mexico’s capital city said in a statement. Many transgender people were also… Read more »

Marriage Equality Now Legal Across All of Mexico

In Mexico, marriage equality is officially extended to everybody across the nation, regardless of where they live. The enactment of marriage equality represents the successful completion of a process that took more than 12 years. Tamaulipas legalized marriages between same-sex partners when its legislators voted in favor of the measure Wednesday night, making it the… Read more »

Hundreds Marry in Mass LGBTQ+ Wedding in Mexico City

In Mexico City, hundreds of same-sex couples were married Friday during the first Pride celebration since the pandemic forced the city’s annual mass ceremony to be postponed two years ago due to health concerns. A band played traditional tunes like Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” as couples exchanged their vows, the Associated Press reports. The city’s government… Read more »

Kissing Gay Men Arrested On Mexican Beach

Two gay men were arrested shortly after the pair kissed on a public Mexican beach. After seeing the two men handcuffed and escorted away a crowd rallied, forcing the police to release them, Out reports. A video of the incident showing the two men being handcuffed by armed officers was uploaded to Facebook (check it… Read more »

From The Field: Misunderstood and mistreated; transgender women in Mexico

A group of transgender women in Mexico City has been telling the UN how despite living with discrimination and the threat of physical violence, they have managed to help others in a poor neighbourhood of the Mexican capital during the COVID-19 crisis. The Women of “Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias” shelter, have been providing up… Read more »

Mexico City Archbishop Backs Civil Unions For Gay Couples

Mexico’s highest-ranking Catholic bishop has said that he agrees with recent comments by Pope Francis in support of civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Francis made the comments in Francesco, a documentary on Pope Francis that premiered in October at the Rome Film Festival. “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the… Read more »

Mexico City Bans ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy

Lawmakers in Mexico City on Friday approved a bill that criminalizes therapies that attempt to alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of people who identify as LGBT. Such therapies go by names such as “conversion therapy,” “reparative therapy,” “sexual orientation change efforts” or “ex-gay therapy.” According to Reuters, the bill received support from several… Read more »

Gay marriage in Baja: reforms aim to address discrimination

Mexicali — Same-sex marriage is legal in Baja California. Sort of. To get married in the state, gay and lesbian couples are legally required to overcome costly and lengthy legal obstacles that heterosexual couples never face. The process involves applying for a marriage license, getting rejected by a local clerk, and filing an injunction with… Read more »

Gay marriage in Baja: reforms aim to address discrimination

Mexicali — Same-sex marriage is legal in Baja California. Sort of. To get married in the state, gay and lesbian couples are legally required to overcome costly and lengthy legal obstacles that heterosexual couples never face. The process involves applying for a marriage license, getting rejected by a local clerk, and filing an injunction with… Read more »

Gay characters make history as leads of new Mexican telenovela

LGBTI characters are becoming more visible on soaps worldwide A telenovela in Mexico made history on Sunday (23 June) by starring gay characters as the leads for the first time ever. Juntos, El Corazon Nunca se Equivoca, which premiered last night, is a spinoff of another telenovela, Mi Marido Tiene Mas Familia, which ran from… Read more »

Mexican consulates worldwide instructed to perform same-sex marriages

Mexico City – Mexico’s foreign affairs secretary has instructed the country’s consulates throughout the world to allow all citizens, regardless of gender, to marry in their offices. Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard says that a democratic country can’t be built by excluding part of society. More than a dozen Mexican states and the capital allow same-sex… Read more »

3 LGBT Rights Activists Murdered In Southern Mexico

According to the AP, the bodies were found on a road between Taxco and Cuernavaca. The bodies had bullet wounds to the head. The victims were identified as activists Ruben Estrada, Carlos Uriel Lopez and Roberto Vega. Roberto Alvarez, a security spokesman for Guerrero, said Tuesday that the killings may have been linked to extortion.… Read more »

Mexico City’s gay subway – in pictures

David Graham had heard that gay men in Mexico City used the underground as a cruising labyrinth – and its ground zero was the legendary ‘last car’. Could it be true? The Last Car: Cruising in Mexico City by David Graham is published by Kehrer Source – The Guardian

An incredible court ruling just ordered 16 countries to make same-sex marriage legal

A landmark court ruling has ordered 16 new countries to make same-sex marriage legal. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights reached a decision today on a marriage equality petition submitted two years ago by Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solis. 20 countries agreed to follow the court’s rulings when they signed the American Convention on… Read more »

Muxes: gender-fluid lives in a small Mexican town

In the latest Guardian documentary we meet three muxes, people whose gender identity is unique to the Oaxaca region and the indigenous Zapoteca culture In Juchitán, Mexico, muxes – children identified as male at birth, but who choose at a young age to be raised as female – are embraced as part of the community.… Read more »

Mexico’s gay couples fight backlash against same-sex marriage

The supreme court ruled last year that restricting marriage to heterosexuals was discriminatory but well-funded Christian groups are staging a fightback After 19 years together, Inés Acevedo and Yolanda Torres finally tied the knot last September, at a collective wedding in the Mexican city of Querétaro. But their marriage was tragically short lived: less than… Read more »

Thousands rally against gay marriage in Tijuana: ‘We have the right to defend our values’

Thousands of opponents of same-sex marriage, including Tijuana’s new Roman Catholic archbishop, gathered for a rally in the city Saturday to protest Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s proposed constitutional reform favoring the right of couples to marry regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. The morning march to City Hall was one of dozens of… Read more »

The Massacre at a Mexican Gay Bar That No One Talked About

The LGBT community in Latin America regularly faces violence, and Islam has nothing to do with it. While reactions to the horrific shooting of an Orlando LGBT club have focused on attacker’s alleged links to Islamic extremists—despite pledging allegiance to both the Islamic State group and nemesis Hezbollah—news of a similar attack on a popular… Read more »

Lawmakers In Nayarit, Mexico Approve Gay Marriage Bill

Lawmakers in the Mexican state of Nayarit earlier this month approved a bill which allows gay and lesbian couples to marry in the state. Nayarit is expected to become the fourth Mexican municipality where gay couples can tie the knot, though marriage equality is technically possible throughout the country. Two additional states – Chihuahua and… Read more »

Mexican Top Court Strikes Down Jalisco’s Gay Marriage Ban

The First Chamber of the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice on Wednesday struck down an article of civil code in the state of Jalisco that prohibited gay couples from marrying. A gay and a lesbian couple challenged the western state’s civil code after they were denied marriage licenses. Article 258 of the Jalisco Civil Code… Read more »

Mexico Supreme Court Strikes Gay Marriage Bans; Chihuahua Joins Equality States

Mexico’s highest court has struck down state bans on gay marriage as unconstitutional for a fifth time. A state law which considers the ultimate purpose of marriage to be “procreation, and or defines [marriage] as celebrated between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional,” Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled. The ruling, delivered June 3 but made… Read more »

Mexico: Court rules same-sex marriage bans ‘discriminatory’

Mexico’s highest court has called bans on same-sex marriage “totally unjustified”. The court was responding to a petition for legal recourse submitted by a gay couple against state laws in Sinaloa which prevented them from marrying. The Supreme Court said in a statement: “The contested provisions are clearly discriminatory because the relationships in which homosexual… Read more »

QueerView March 13: A Look Back At The Week In LGBT News Stories

Each week HuffPost Gay Voices and HuffPost Live will take a look back at some of the biggest queer news stories from the past week. This regular feature is titled “QueerView.” LGBT Activist Describes Queer Life In Mexico City Estefania Vela Barba discusses what it’s like to be queer in Mexico City. Click Here Source… Read more »

QueerView March 13: A Look Back At The Week In LGBT News Stories

Each week HuffPost Gay Voices and HuffPost Live will take a look back at some of the biggest queer news stories from the past week. Check back every Friday for your queer news round-up in this regular feature titled “QueerView.” LGBT Activist Describes Queer Life In Mexico City Estefania Vela Barba discusses what it’s like… Read more »

Mexico: First same-sex couple finally marry in Baja California

The first same-sex couple have married in the Mexican state of Baja California, after a protracted legal battle and numerous failed attempts. The Mexican Supreme Court ruled last year that the northern state – which borders the US state of California – could not prevent Victor Aguirre Espinoza and Fernando Urías Amparo from marrying. However,… Read more »

Gay Marriage Law Takes Effect In Mexican State Of Coahuila

Gay and lesbian couples on Wednesday began applying for marriage licenses after a law legalizing such unions took effect in the Mexican state of Coahuila. Coahuila, which is bordered by Texas to its north, is the first Mexican state to legislatively allow gay couples to marry. On Monday, September 1, an overwhelming majority of lawmakers… Read more »

Same-sex marriage and adoption approved in another Mexican state

The Mexican state of Coahuila has joined one other state and Mexico City in legally recognising same-sex marriages. The state voted the bill into law yesterday. Presenting the bill was Samuel Acevedo, who said he wanted all gay and lesbian couples to have equal rights to straight couples. He said the legislation would help to… Read more »

Mexico City: Thousands celebrate pride and call for an end to homophobia

Twelve thousand turned out in the streets of Mexico’s capital to celebrate pride on Saturday, under the protective gaze of around 1,900 police officers. The celebrators stopped in front of the Senate to protest the Family and Human Development Committee, whose chairman, Jose Maria Martinez, has spoken out against abortion and same sex marriage in… Read more »

Mexico’s gay rights movement gaining ground

Despite a shift in public opinion, gay couples remain unable to marry throughout most of the country. Guadalajara, Mexico – As the countdown to New Year’s Day reached its climax in Guadalajara’s trendy Barezzito nightclub, many of the well-dressed local couples shared a celebratory kiss. But the euphoria did not last long for two young… Read more »

Lesbian couple becomes second same-sex marriage in Oaxaca, Mexico

Karina and Gabriela became the second same-sex couple to wed in the state of Oaxaca since a December 2012 Supreme Court ruling found the state’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional Yesterday (22 December) Karina and Gabriela, whose last names have been omitted per their request, married in a private ceremony at approximately 3pm local time.… Read more »

Chihuahua becomes fourth Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage

Same-sex couples may now seek to be married through the Civil Registry of the Mexican state of Chihuahua after a District Court Judge ruled in favor of a gay couple who had sought to be married but had instead been turned away. The couple, named as Tony and Thomas by El Pueblo, had sought to… Read more »

Chihuahua becomes fourth Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage

The Mexican state of Chihuahua has joined Mexico City, Quintana Roo and Oaxaca in allowing same-sex couples to marry following a 22 August court verdict Same-sex couples may now seek to be married through the Civil Registry of the Mexican state of Chihuahua after a District Court Judge ruled in favor of a gay couple… Read more »

Mexico’s 1st gay mayor elected in rough north

Mexico City (AP) — Mexico’s first openly gay elected mayor is set to take office in a rough part of Zacatecas state known for cowboy boots, embossed belts and drug gang shootouts. Benjamin Medrano, a 47-year-old singer and gay bar-owner, says he is proud to be openly gay and rights groups say his victory in… Read more »

Indigenous LGBT political leaders bring concerns to D.C.

On Saturday, March 16, indigenous LGBT elected officials and candidates from North and South America provided testimony at a public hearing at the Inter American Commission on Human Rights at the Organization of American States. Three leaders representing indigenous populations in Bolivia, Mexico and the United States testified at the panel “Situation of the Human… Read more »

Mexico’s Highest Court Declares Law Banning Gay Marriage Unconstitutional

The Mexican Supreme Court (la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion) on Monday declared a law in the state of Oaxacan limiting marriage to heterosexual couples to be in violation of the country’s constitution. According to the Washington Blade, the court cited two groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court civil rights cases, Loving v. Virginia and… Read more »

Blind Alleys

The Unseen Struggles of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Urban Refugees in Mexico, Uganda and South Africa PART I Guidance for NGOs, Governments, UNHCR & Program Funders Read PDF Source – Oram International

Mexican State Oaxaca To Legalize Gay Marriage

The Mexican state of Oaxaca will legalize gay marriage after the nation’s top court unanimously declared its marriage law, which excludes gay and lesbian couples, to be unconstitutional. On Wednesday, the nation’s Supreme Court (la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion (SCJN)) sided with three gay couples who wish to marry in the state.… Read more »

Mexico grants social security benefits to gay couples

Amendments to social security law now include medical and social benefits to gay spouses Mexico now includes gay couples as beneficiaries to social security benefits. Winning 252 votes for, 80 against and 15 abstentions, in the country’s House of Representatives these amendments improve the constitutional rights of gay, lesbian and bisexual Mexicans. As a Latin… Read more »

Cancun Plans to Pass Gay Marriage Bill to Attract Tourists

Cancun and other resort areas on the Mexican Caribbean will have a new attraction for gay and lesbian couples from the United States, Canada and Europe, allowing them to legalize their unions thanks to a quirk in the local civil code, activist Patricia Novelo told Efe. “This market niche … is very attractive for European,… Read more »