Gay weddings in Mexico City did not take place overnight. 2007 marked the start of one of the most significant steps towards the recognition of civil rights for minorities, with the approval of the Domestic Partnership Law, conferring legal recognition to those households made up of persons not related by blood or affinity. This legislation considers and establishes certain rights and obligations for the members of the partnership, which before its creation, many families were painfully lacking. Several rights were established, including the right to inherit (legitimate intestamentary succession), subrogation of rental agreements, to receive food in situations deemed as necessary, and to have legitimate guardianship of children. In other words, this legislation was applicable to a great variety of partnerships, including same sex unions.
Later, and after the reforms to the Mexico City civil codes, the law came into effect in March 2010, per instruction of Mexico City’s head of government, Marcelo Ebrard.
Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s City Mayor (Courtesy of Reforma Newspaper and www.ebrard-para-presidente.com/)
Mexico City became the 14th jurisdiction in the world legalizing gay marriage. Other locations include the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, Sweden, Norway, and a handful of states in the US, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Iowa.
Yet not all is peachy keen, now the debate is centered on a fierce fight with the Catholic Church, who has openly declared against gay marriage. Guadalajara’s Cardinal, Juan Sandoval Iñiguez has openly made declarations to local media with phrases and ideas that are frankly quite discriminatory against the LGBT community, having gone as far as comparing this legislation to the moral damage that drug trafficking is causing throughout the nation. And he hasn’t laid the issue to rest there, the Cardinal has gone on to say that Mexico’s Supreme Court Justices are corrupt, and have received money from the Mexico City head of government to support gay marriage and adoptions among same sex couples. Separately, Marcelo Ebrard hasn’t thought twice about responding, opening a civil lawsuit against the cardinal for slander.
So by no means can we say that it’s gone well, but it’s never really been smooth sailing for our community. This battle started in Mexico back in 2001, and the work of Representative Enoé Uranga, the daughter of revolutionaries, is very much worth highlighting. Her work has been quite fruitful, first as an independent legislator and now as member of the PRD (Partido de la Revolución Democrática) political party, which happens to be the same one that Marcelo Ebrard is affiliated with, and one that has enabled significant changes for Mexico’s LGBT community, alongside many brave men and women. Analyzing this case study in Mexico, it seems that there is a clear opportunity to direct communication programs to endorse LGBT NGO’s voices and counsel the local government on how to position a positive visibility nationwide regarding their efforts to fortify human rights.
I believe these are times of hopeful change, and it is necessary to look back to see how far we’ve come, recognizing the work of many generations in the LGBT community throughout the world who have made it possible for us to inherit the world we now live in. It is now up to us to continue working towards a fair and happy society for generations to come.
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