Εκλογές στο Μεξικό σήμερα.
Ας δούμε, λοιπόν, τι ζήτησαν από τα κόμματα και τη μελλοντική κυβέρνηση οι μεξικανοί ομοφυλόφιλοι στο δικό τους Gay Pride την περασμένη εβδομάδα.
RIGHTS-MEXICO:test
Ας δούμε, λοιπόν, τι ζήτησαν από τα κόμματα και τη μελλοντική κυβέρνηση οι μεξικανοί ομοφυλόφιλοι στο δικό τους Gay Pride την περασμένη εβδομάδα.
RIGHTS-MEXICO:test
Diego Cevallos
MEXICO CITY, Jun 24 (IPS) - Anhalí is putting the final touches on the devil costume she plans to wear for the Pride Parade this Saturday in the Mexican capital, which is expected to draw around 60,000 members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community.
”It's the best day of the year,” declares Anhalí, who was born a man but now dresses and lives as a woman.
Held annually for over ten years now, the parade passes along some of Mexico City's main streets before reaching a downtown square, where a performing arts festival will be held.
Along the route, Anhalí will be dancing to techno music and trying not to think about her friend Pablo, who won't be accompanying her this year as he usually does. Tired of repeated incidents of homophobic discrimination, Pablo finally decided to emigrate to the United States.
As well as a major social event, the Pride Parade is an opportunity for the GLBT community to voice its demands, which include respect for all sexual orientations, the right to same-sex marriage, and public health care support for sex change surgery.
In a survey conducted in May by the Secretariat of Social Development and the National Council to Prevent Discrimination, 94.7 percent of members of so-called ”sexual minorities” said they suffered discrimination.
According to a number of different research studies, between five and 10 million Mexicans, out of a total population of 105 million, define themselves as homosexuals.
The discrimination suffered by gays and lesbians sometimes takes the form of crime. Around 30 homosexuals are murdered in Mexico every year solely because of their sexual orientation.
”I'm going to be up on a float for the whole parade, to show everybody who I am: a woman in a man's body, but no less of a person because of it,” Anhalí told IPS.
The annual parade is also attended by hundreds of heterosexual participants, who join in to show their support for the demands of sexual minorities.
The government and politicians should listen to what the marchers have to say on Saturday and undertake the legal reforms needed to guarantee the rights of non-heterosexuals, said Mario Arteaga, president of the Mexican Pride Committee, one of the groups organising the parade.
”It is not simply a matter of recognising the rights of a more or less scandalous minority. It is a matter of raising the quality of our democracy in general,” he added.
Over the past two months, the government of President Vicente Fox has carried out a media public service campaign aimed at promoting acceptance and respect for sexual diversity.
”Equality begins when we recognise that we all have the right to be different,” and ”For an influential, tolerant and pluralistic Mexico” were among the slogans used in the campaign. The initiative was bitterly opposed by the Catholic Church leadership and conservative groups, who claimed that the messages expressed served to promote homosexuality.
In addition to members of sexual minorities, the Mexican government survey conducted in May also addressed other minority groups and sectors of society.
The results indicated that 94.4 percent of the disabled people interviewed, 94.2 percent of the women, 90.8 percent of the indigenous people, 88.4 percent of the elderly and 80.4 percent of the practitioners of minority religions felt that they were discriminated against in Mexico.
In the same survey, 71 percent of the homosexuals consulted said that the greatest problem they face is discrimination.
In addition, 54.5 percent said they felt rejected by society, 43 percent believed they had fewer educational opportunities than non-homosexuals, and 72 percent said it was more difficult for them to find employment because of their sexual preferences.
In the meantime, close to 45 percent said their families had tried to force them to change their sexual orientation.
During the Pride Parade, flyers will be handed out calling on the Mexican Congress to approve a bill - on hold since 2003 - that would recognise same-sex civil unions.
MEXICO CITY, Jun 24 (IPS) - Anhalí is putting the final touches on the devil costume she plans to wear for the Pride Parade this Saturday in the Mexican capital, which is expected to draw around 60,000 members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community.
”It's the best day of the year,” declares Anhalí, who was born a man but now dresses and lives as a woman.
Held annually for over ten years now, the parade passes along some of Mexico City's main streets before reaching a downtown square, where a performing arts festival will be held.
Along the route, Anhalí will be dancing to techno music and trying not to think about her friend Pablo, who won't be accompanying her this year as he usually does. Tired of repeated incidents of homophobic discrimination, Pablo finally decided to emigrate to the United States.
As well as a major social event, the Pride Parade is an opportunity for the GLBT community to voice its demands, which include respect for all sexual orientations, the right to same-sex marriage, and public health care support for sex change surgery.
In a survey conducted in May by the Secretariat of Social Development and the National Council to Prevent Discrimination, 94.7 percent of members of so-called ”sexual minorities” said they suffered discrimination.
According to a number of different research studies, between five and 10 million Mexicans, out of a total population of 105 million, define themselves as homosexuals.
The discrimination suffered by gays and lesbians sometimes takes the form of crime. Around 30 homosexuals are murdered in Mexico every year solely because of their sexual orientation.
”I'm going to be up on a float for the whole parade, to show everybody who I am: a woman in a man's body, but no less of a person because of it,” Anhalí told IPS.
The annual parade is also attended by hundreds of heterosexual participants, who join in to show their support for the demands of sexual minorities.
The government and politicians should listen to what the marchers have to say on Saturday and undertake the legal reforms needed to guarantee the rights of non-heterosexuals, said Mario Arteaga, president of the Mexican Pride Committee, one of the groups organising the parade.
”It is not simply a matter of recognising the rights of a more or less scandalous minority. It is a matter of raising the quality of our democracy in general,” he added.
Over the past two months, the government of President Vicente Fox has carried out a media public service campaign aimed at promoting acceptance and respect for sexual diversity.
”Equality begins when we recognise that we all have the right to be different,” and ”For an influential, tolerant and pluralistic Mexico” were among the slogans used in the campaign. The initiative was bitterly opposed by the Catholic Church leadership and conservative groups, who claimed that the messages expressed served to promote homosexuality.
In addition to members of sexual minorities, the Mexican government survey conducted in May also addressed other minority groups and sectors of society.
The results indicated that 94.4 percent of the disabled people interviewed, 94.2 percent of the women, 90.8 percent of the indigenous people, 88.4 percent of the elderly and 80.4 percent of the practitioners of minority religions felt that they were discriminated against in Mexico.
In the same survey, 71 percent of the homosexuals consulted said that the greatest problem they face is discrimination.
In addition, 54.5 percent said they felt rejected by society, 43 percent believed they had fewer educational opportunities than non-homosexuals, and 72 percent said it was more difficult for them to find employment because of their sexual preferences.
In the meantime, close to 45 percent said their families had tried to force them to change their sexual orientation.
During the Pride Parade, flyers will be handed out calling on the Mexican Congress to approve a bill - on hold since 2003 - that would recognise same-sex civil unions.
They will also urge the government to include sex reassignment surgery in basic public health care coverage.
Finally, the marchers will be demanding greater efforts to investigate crimes committed against homosexuals.
The non-governmental Citizens Commission Against Homophobic Hate Crimes reports that between 1995 and 2003, there were 290 people murdered in Mexico as a result of homophobic hatred, of whom 275 were men. A full 126 of these murders took place in Mexico City alone, and most of them remain unsolved and unpunished. (END/2005)
Finally, the marchers will be demanding greater efforts to investigate crimes committed against homosexuals.
The non-governmental Citizens Commission Against Homophobic Hate Crimes reports that between 1995 and 2003, there were 290 people murdered in Mexico as a result of homophobic hatred, of whom 275 were men. A full 126 of these murders took place in Mexico City alone, and most of them remain unsolved and unpunished. (END/2005)
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