South America
Gay man plays leading role in drafting Chile’s new constitution
Gaspar Domínguez is vice president of Constitutional Convention
SANTIAGO, Chile — Gaspar Domínguez, the vice president of Chile’s Constitutional Convention that will rewrite the country’s constitution, is a 33-year-old openly gay man. Domínguez last week spoke with the Washington Blade about the historic process through which Chile is going and what it will mean for LGBTQ rights in the country and around the world.
Chileans last May elected 155 people to the Constitutional Convention. Domínguez was one of eight openly LGBTQ people chosen, and he became the constituent body’s vice president in January.
“In this process of deep political transformation that Chile is going through, I think that many doors that were there, that we knew existed, were opened and one of those was to recognize that people of sexual diversity are citizens, that we need to participate and represent ourselves in politics and that was how in the convention we came to at least eight people openly belonging to sexual diversity,” Domínguez told the Blade from his office in the former National Congress building in Santiago, the Chilean capital. “I have had to lead this process, give it an administrative management in terms of deadlines, to organize the processes and also political management because the things we say, the way we say things also help to build certain realities and certain opinion in terms of the consequences that will have for Chile.”
Dominguez noted “Chile is one of the most conservative countries in Latin America.” He acknowledged, however, the country over the last decade has seen many LGBTQ rights advances.
A law that allows same-sex couples to marry and adopt took effect in March.
Domínguez said a draft of the new constitution on which Chileans will vote on Sept. 4 has four “fundamental aspects for the LGBTQ+ population.”
“The most relevant one is that it establishes non-discrimination,” he said. “The constitution will prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
“Second, it establishes the State’s recognition of the existence of diverse types of families in plural, and that, by the way, will have a consequence in terms of public policies in the future,” added Domínguez.
He pointed out to Blade the State would have to guarantee the LGBTQ community is politically represented. The fourth provision would ensure each person has the right to decide their gender identity.
Domínguez highlighted the work of LGBTQ organizations that have been fighting for years for their rights.
“There are organizations and movements of the LGBTQ+ community that think one way and others that think another way and that I think is very good,” he said. “(The first goal was) to make visible that the LGBTQ+ community is not a homogeneous community. That is good, especially today that we are in this constituent process, opening the possibility that these differences have agreements.”
Finally, Domínguez said that “it is a tremendous opportunity for the LGBTQ+ community in Chile and certainly in the world, because today, when we talk about a constitutional reform of political representation in other laws of other countries, they will be able to put that the example of Chile constitutionally ensures the political representation of women in parity terms and the political representation of the different sexual and gender dissidences. So I think there is a tremendous opportunity.”
“I believe that the right to identity, the recognition of equal marriage, the recognition of the different types of families puts us at the forefront in this matter and, by the way, it should become an example for the discussions that other countries will have on similar issues,” he said.
Chile
Far-right José Antonio Kast elected Chile’s next president
Advocacy group declares ‘state of alert’ over president-elect’s opposition to LGBTQ rights
José Antonio Kast on Sunday won the second round of Chile’s presidential election.
Kast is the far-right leader of the Republican Party who was a member of the country’s House of Deputies from 2002-2018. He defeated Jeannette Jara, a member of the Communist Party of Chile who was former labor and social welfare minister in outgoing President Gabriel Boric’s government, by a 58.2-41.8 percent margin.
The election’s first round took place on Nov. 16.
Kast and Jara faced each other in the runoff after no candidate received at least 50 percent of the vote in the first round. Kast will take office on March 11.
“Under his leadership, we are confident Chile will advance shared priorities to include strengthening public security, ending illegal immigration, and revitalizing our commercial relationship,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday in a statement. “The United States looks forward to working closely with his administration to deepen our partnership and promote shared prosperity in our hemisphere.”
The Washington Blade has previously reported Kast has expressed his opposition to gender-specific policies, comprehensive sex education, and reforms to Chile’s anti-discrimination laws. The president-elect has also publicly opposed the country’s marriage equality law that took effect in 2022.
The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBTQ and intersex rights group known by the acronym Movilh, in a statement acknowledged the election result. Movilh also declared a “state of alert, given this leader’s (Kast’s) public and political trajectory, characterized for decades by systematic opposition to laws and policies aimed at equality and nondiscrimination of LGBTIQ+ individuals.”
“We urge the president-elect and far-right sectors that follow him to understand and internalize (the fact) that the rights of LGBTIQ+ people are inscribed in the universality of human rights, and they are not built upon an ideology or a political trend,” said Movilh in its statement. “This is not, and never has been, a left-wing or right-wing issue, although some on both sides have gone to great lengths to suggest otherwise, without any basis other than their own partisan or electoral aspirations.”
Organizado Trans Diversidades, a group that advocates on behalf of trans and nonbinary Chileans, on social media said it will “continue the fight for our community’s human rights.”
Colombia
Colombia anunció la inclusión de las categorías ‘trans’ y ‘no binario’ en los documentos de identidad
Registraduría Nacional anunció el cambio el 28 de noviembre
Ahora los ciudadanos colombianos podrán seleccionar las categorías ‘trans’ y ‘no binario’ en los documentos de identidad del país.
Este viernes la Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil anunció que añadió las categorías ‘no binario’ y ‘trans’ en los distintos documentos de identidad con el fin de garantizar los derechos de las personas con identidad diversa.
El registrador nacional, Hernán Penagos, informó que hizo la inclusión de estas dos categorías en los documentos de: registro civil, tarjeta de identidad y cédula de ciudadanía.
Según la registraduría: “La inclusión de estas categorías representa un importante avance en materia de garantía de derechos de las personas con identidad de género diversa”.
Estas categorías estarán en el campo de ‘sexo’ en el que están normalmente las clasificaciones de ‘femenino’ y ‘masculino’ en los documentos de identidad.
En 2024 se inició la ejecución de diferentes acciones orientadas implementar componentes “‘NB’ y ‘T’ en el campo ‘sexo’ de los registros civiles y los documentos de identidad”.
Las personas trans existen y su identidad de género es un aspecto fundamental de su humanidad, reconocido por la Corte Constitucional de Colombia en sentencias como T-236/2023 y T-188/2024, que protegen sus derechos a la identidad y no discriminación. La actualización de la Registraduría implementa estos fallos que ya habían ordenado esos cambios en documentos de identidad.
Por su parte, el registrador nacional, Penagos, comentó que: “se trata del cumplimiento de unas órdenes por parte de la Corte Constitucional y, en segundo lugar, de una iniciativa en la que la Registraduría ha estado absolutamente comprometida”. Y explicó que en cada “una de las estaciones integradas de servicio de las más de 1.200 oficinas que tiene la Registraduría Nacional se va a incluir todo este proceso”.
Brazil
Black transgender singer from Brazil wins three Latin Grammy Awards
Liniker performed at Las Vegas ceremony
A Black transgender singer and songwriter from Brazil on Nov. 13 won three Latin Grammy Awards.
Liniker, who is from Araraquara, a city in São Paulo State, won for Best Portuguese Language Song for her song “Veludo Marrom,” Best Portuguese-Language Urban Performance for her song “Caju” from her sophomore album of the same title, and Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album for “Caju.”
She accepted the awards during the Latin Grammy Awards ceremony that took place in Las Vegas. Liniker also performed.
“I’ve been writing since I was 16. And writing, and poetry, have been my greatest form of existence. It’s where I find myself; where I celebrate so many things I experience,” said Liniker as she accepted her first Latin Grammy on Nov. 13. “And being a composer … Being a trans composer in Brazil — a country that kills us — is extremely difficult.”
Liniker in 2022 became the first openly trans woman to win a Latin Grammy.
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