While the homosexual community has made some progress within the political and legal landscape of Mexico (IGLHRC 23 Apr. 2003; AP 14 June 2003; ibid. 4 July 2003; ibid. 5 Aug. 2003), traditional attitudes of intolerance and evidence of mistreatment still persist in certain areas (AP 25 Feb. 2003; IGLHRC 9 July 2003; Adital 30 Oct. 2003; ibid. 6 Nov. 2003).

In 2003, news and human rights sources reported that Mexico became the second country in Latin America to enact a national anti-discrimination law that includes protection for "sexual preference" (IGLHRC 23 Apr. 2003; AP 14 June 2003). Along with its other functions, the Federal Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination establishes the National Council to Prevent Discrimination, a federal agency that will investigate acts of discrimination perpetrated by public officials (IGLHRC 23 Apr. 2003).

Rodolfo Millan, legal coordinator for the Citizens Commission Against Homophobic Crimes has noted that although the new law is a step in the right direction, the law itself is insufficient to prevent discrimination against homosexuals (AP 14 June 2003). For example, one major stumbling block of the new law is the National Council's weak enforcement options (ibid.). According to the Associated Press (AP), the law-breakers will not be held criminally responsible; instead they may receive punishments such as being shamed through the "posting [of] signs at their offices or [the] publishing [of] official declarations condemning their actions" (ibid.).

Another legal initiative that aims to recognize gay rights is the proposed Law of Society and Coexistence (Ley de Sociedad de Convivencia), a law that seeks to legalize same-sex unions in the Federal District (CIMAC 16 Dec. 2003; EFE 15 Dec. 2003). This law would, for instance, allow same-sex couples rights similar to those of married heterosexual couples, such as the right to inherit a partner's estate or receive a partner's medical or pension benefits (ibid.). In February 2004, more than 2,700 gay couples were "married" in mock weddings in Mexico City in an effort to promote the legalization of same-sex unions (AFP 15 Feb. 2004). Organized by the Coexistence Societies Citizens Network, the simulated marriage ceremonies were intended to pressure Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to support the proposed law (ibid.). Nevertheless, in a March 2004 article, Millan stated that "ultra right" (ultraderecha) groups allied with the Catholic Church, along with Mayor Lopez Obrador and Democratic Revolution Party (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica, PRD) legislators oppose this planned law and have kept it "frozen" (congelada) in the Federal District's Legislative Assembly (CIMAC 26 Mar. 2004).

President Vicente Fox announced in August 2003, that the government would subsidize medication costs for all its citizens with AIDS (AP 5 Aug. 2003). Though it was unclear if such a subsidy would be for new patients as well as for those who are already HIV positive, the president stated that his administration would pay medication for all AIDS patients by the end of the year (ibid.). The AP article also noted that there were already 10,000 AIDS patients receiving some governmental financial support to pay for medication (5 Aug. 2003).

In March 2003, about 500 lesbians held their first public pride march in Mexico City, led by independent politician Enoe Uranga, and they used the occasion to protest against the war in Iraq (AP 21 Mar. 2003). In June 2003, the 25th annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride March was held in Mexico City (Weekly News Update on the Americas 22 June 2003). Attended by between 30,000 and 80,000 people, the parade of 30 floats made its way from the downtown areas of the Angel of Independence to the Zocalo (ibid.; Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004). Parade coordinator, Francisco Javier Lagunes, noted that while the march may demonstrate a certain level of tolerance in Mexico, the movement as a whole needs to make more progress (AP 21 June 2003). In the lead-up to the Pride March, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (Instituto Nacional de Antropologia y Historia, INAH) hosted the second annual Sexual Diversity Week in Mexico City (Reforma 21 May 2003). INAH anthropologist, Yesenia Pena, stated that while people may be tolerant towards homosexuality in Mexico City, there remains a need to "dignify the lives of sexual minorities, who have lived in secrecy for years" (ibid.).

In June and July 2003, there were reports on transvestite and political candidate Amaranta Gomez's campaign to win a place in local government and a seat in the National Congress (La Jornada 5 June 2003; AP 4 July 2003). Gomez was campaigning in Ixhuatan under the banner of the new leftist Mexico Possible party, a political organization that calls for, among other things, the legalization of homosexual marriage (ibid.). This party also attracted national attention for its legal protests against members of the Catholic Church who had illegally voiced their political opinion (ibid.). Moreover, a spokesperson for the party noted that Mexico Possible had 32 gay candidates running for 6 July 2003 midterm congressional and local elections (AP 21 June 2003).

Despite these gains, reports of homophobic crimes and intolerance continue to surface (AP 25 Feb. 2003; Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004; IGLHRC 9 July 2003; OpusGay 7 Feb. 2004; Adital 30 Oct. 2003; ibid. 6 Nov. 2003).

In a February 2003 AP article, the mayor of Torreon, Coahuila, in reaction to the killing of a local priest by two male prostitutes, advised police to clean up male prostitution in the city (AP 25 Feb. 2003). Mayor Guillermo Anaya Llamas mentioned that he wanted to make the downtown area safer for families and that male prostitutes posed a health risk, and that they should "go to another city" (ibid.). Consequently, Llamas reportedly stated, the city's police force had arrested over 50 homosexuals in January 2003 (ibid.).

According to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission's (IGLHRC's) 2003 annual report, there were seven homosexual murders in Mexico, ranking it third among all Latin American and Caribbean countries (OpusGay 7 Feb. 2004). Mexico City's Assistance Centre for Addicts and Persons at Risk (Centro de Atencion a las Adicciones y Riesgos Victimales, CARIVA) of the Federal District Attorney General's office reported that it registered about 36 homophobic "hate crimes" (crimenes de odio) per year (Es Mas 11 Oct. 2003).

Case-specific human rights reports provide information about the 1 June 2003 killing of Jorge Armenta Penuelas, president of the Nogales, Sonora-based Lesbian and Gay Collective, and Convergencia Party candidate for local government elections (IGLHRC 9 July 2003; Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004). According to the IGLHRC, the bodies of Penuelas and his partner Ramon Armando Gutierrez Enriquez exhibited visible signs of torture (9 July 2003). Moreover the IGLHRC stated:

The Sonora Prosecutor Office called the murders "crimes of passion," and in an attempt to stop further investigation, added that gay couples tend to be promiscuous and to have "many lovers." Activists and the local State Human Rights Commission demand that proper investigations be conducted, without misconceptions and prejudice (9 July 2003).

In October 2003, Adital reported on the protracted police investigations carried out by Tabasco state authorities to find and punish those responsible for what local human rights groups call homophobic acts (30 Oct. 2003). According to the Democracy and Sexuality Network (Red Democracia y Sexualidad), from 1999 until 2003, the cases of four murders and three seriously injured victims remained unsolved. Adital's 6 November 2003 follow-up article noted that a number of LGBT organizations in Tabasco were demanding that the state governor and President Vicente Fox get involved in "shedding some light on" (esclarezcan) the attacks on homosexual men in that state.

For more information about the treatment of and state protection for homosexuals, please refer to the Mexico section of the World Policy Institute's 2003 report on Sexual Orientation and Human Rights in the Americas at http://www.worldpolicy.org/globalrights/sexorient/2003-LGBT-Americas.pdf.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 15 February 2004. "Thousands of Gay Mexicans Wed in Mock Ceremonies, Demand Marriage Rights." (Dialog)

Agencia de Informacao Frei Tito para a America Latina (Adital). [Fortaleza, Brazil]. 6 November 2003. Mario Reyes. "Organizaciones exigiran justicia a responsables de asesinatos homofobicos en Tabasco." http://www.adital.org.br/asp2/noticia.asp?idioma=ES¬icia=9723&imp=1 [Accessed 1 Apr. 2004]

____. 30 October 2003. "Entidades denuncian casos de homofobia institucional en Tabasco." http://www.adital.org.br/asp2/noticia.asp?idioma=ES¬icia=9630&imp=1 [Accessed 1 Apr. 2004]

Associated Press (AP). 5 August 2003. "Mexican Govt To Subsidize Drugs for All AIDS Patients." http://www.aegis.com/news/ap/2003/AP030813.html [Accessed 17 Sept. 2003]

____. 4 July 2003. John Rice. "Mexico's Transvestite Candidate May Win." (Dialog)

____. 21 June 2003. Alonso Soto. "Gay Pride Parade Crosses Socially Conservative Mexican Capital." (NEXIS)

____. 14 June 2003. "Mexico's New Anti-Discrimination Law Eyed." http://printerfriendly.abcnews.com/printerfriendly/Print?fetchFromGLUE=true&GLUEService=ABCNewsCom [Accessed 5 Apr. 2004]

____. 21 March 2003. "Mexican Lesbians Join Chorus of Anti-War Voices." (NEXIS)

____. 25 February 2003. "Mexico Mayor Vows to Crack Down on Gay Prostitutes After Slaying of Priest." (NEXIS)

Comunicacion e Informacion de la Mujer (CIMAC). 26 March 2004. Roman Gonzalez. "De ultraderecha, quienes se oponen a la diversidad sexual." http://www.cimacnoticias.com/noticias/04mar/04032605.html [Accessed 5 Apr. 2004]

____. 16 December 2003. Roman Gonzalez. "Cuestionan propuesta de Lopez Obrador sobre Ley de Convivencia." http://www.cimacnoticias.com/noticias/03dic/03121605.html [Accessed 5 Apr. 2004]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2003. 25 February 2004. "Mexico." U.S. Department of State, Washington DC. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27905pf.htm [Accessed 1 Apr. 2004]

EFE Ingles. 15 December 2003. "Mexican Church Against Gay Unions." (Dialog)

Es Mas. 11 October 2003. "Crimenes homofobicos." http://www.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/noticieros/319377.html [Accessed 5 Apr. 2004]

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). 9 July 2003. "Gay Leader and His Partner Murdered." http://www.iglhrc.org/php/section.php?id=5&pos=0&print=1&detail=454 [Accessed 31 Mar. 2004]

____. 23 April 2003. "Mexico: Mexico Becomes the Second Country in Latin America to Provide National Anti-Discrimination Protection for LGBTs." http://www.iglhrc.org/php/section.php?id=5&pos=0&print=1&detail=424 [Accessed 31 Mar. 2004]

La Jornada [Mexico City]. 5 June 2003. Antonio Medina. "La nueva visibilidad lesbico-gay." http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2003/jun03/030605/ls-amaranta.html [Accessed 1 Apr. 2004]

OpusGay [Santiago, Chile]. 7 February 2004. Catalina Herrera. "Reportan 42 muertes por homofobia en America Latina y el Caribe durante el 2003." http://www.opusgay.cl/1315/printer-58218.html [Accessed 7 Apr. 2004]

Reforma [Mexico City]. 21 May 2003. Mirtha Hernandez. "Sexual Minorities Call for Dignification." [Original: Piden dignificar a minorias sexuales] Translated by the Translation Bureau, Multilingual Translation Directorate, Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Weekly News Update on the Americas [New York]. 22 June 2003. "Mexico: Pride March Bigger Than Ever." (Dialog)

Additional Sources Consulted

Unsuccessful attempts at receiving information from the Mexico LGBT Pride Committee (Comite del Orgullo LGBT Mexico).

Publications: Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 2003

Internet sites: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Lesbian and Gay Association, Wockner News, World News Connection (WNC).