South America
Peruvian capital’s mayor-elect raises eyebrows among LGBTQ activists
Rafael López Aliaga is an Opus Dei member
Lima earlier this month elected a new mayor to lead Peru’s most populous city.
Rafael López Aliaga, a conservative businessman, narrowly defeated his opponent in a campaign marked by fervent opposition to communism and progressive values. After his victory, Lima’s LGBTQ community may have cause for concern.
A devout Catholic, López, also known as RLA, is a member of Opus Dei who has practiced self-flagellation and celibacy ever since he joined the conservative Catholic sect when he was 19-years-old.
“Just as a homosexual cannot impose his life on anyone, so too he would be crazy to impose his beliefs on all of Peru,” López has said.
However, his views on social issues closely mirror rightwing Christian doctrine.
He is staunchly against abortion, marriage equality and “gender ideology” and has railed against all three on Twitter. He has also decried the supposed “homosexualization” of Peruvian children.
The mayor-elect, though, is perhaps distinct in some respects among conservative politicians on the continent.
López has endorsed domestic partnerships for same-sex couples and has claimed he would hire a “transsexual” if they were the best person for the job. López has also contrasted himself from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
“Bolsonaro insults the gay community,” López has said. “I am inclusive, the community must be welcomed.”
The veracity of his “inclusivity,” though, is up for debate.
Peruvian writer and political scientist José Alejandro Godoy is unconvinced.
He told the Washington Blade that López has been cautious with regard to what he is saying on LGBTQ-related topics. Godoy fears that with López’s election, a rollback of LGBTQ human rights is imminent. According to the political scientist, anti-discrimination ordinances and the permissions granted to Lima’s Pride Parade may be on the line.
Indeed, there is reason to believe that the fight for LGBTQ rights in Lima is taking a turn for the worse.
Throughout October, Lima has been a hotbed of anti-trans activism. Coordinated in part by leading members of Congress and Popular Renewal, López’s political party, the city has experienced “anti-gender ideology and pro-family” protests.
Popular Renewal Congressman Alejandro Muñante, who is the Peruvian Congress’ third vice president, and CitizenGO, a rightwing activist group, on Oct. 3 managed to get a truck to enter the front of Peru’s parliamentary headquarters with the message: “OAS: Women are defined by biology, not by ideology.”
Targeting the Organization of American States at its 52nd General Assembly, Muñante and CitizenGO have been campaigning against international efforts to push for a more diverse definition of gender. The following day, on Oct. 4, Popular Renewal sent a letter to the Peruvian Foreign Minister opposing abortion and rejecting any OAS document which may force Peru to “grant improper recognition to transsexual men and grant them the rights of women.” Finally, on Oct. 6, thousands took to the streets of Lima, marching against abortion and gender ideology. Muñante promoted the march and López retweeted coverage of it.
Jazmín Peña-Laurencio, a Peruvian human rights defense attorney, believes the LGBTQ community in Lima should not lose hope.
Municipal ordinances that protect against gender and LGBTQ discrimination have been hard-won by the community, she explains.
“Although Congress does have the power to eliminate these protections, the citizenry would not allow it, as the problem [of LGBTQ discrimination] has been made very visible compared with a few years ago,” she said.
Peña-Laurencio said the community should continue fighting for visibility, as that allows many sectors of society to join the fight and not see LGBTQ discrimination as a niche issue. Activists from Lima agree with the lawyer’s approach.
Manuel Ramirez-Gomez, an activist from Lima and host of a popular LGBTQ podcast, is similarly optimistic about the future of his city. He says that López’s election is nothing new; his community has always felt fear as minorities in the conservative city. However, according to the podcaster; LGBTQ activists in Lima plan to continue organizing, marching and fighting until their rights are fully recognized.
Enrique Vega-Dávila, a queer pastor and academic, echoes Ramirez-Gomez’s sentiment.
“This is not the first time we’ve had a diversity-phobic mayor,” Vega-Dávila told the Blade. “LGBTTTIQ activism has never been easy in Peru. The conservative society in our country has made the closet an alternative to the possibility of fighting for our rights. The RLA administration will surely try to undermine our right to appear in public spaces, but we have been fighting anti-human rights groups for a long time and will continue to do so.”
Despite the activists’ efforts, not all are as optimistic about the possibility for progress in Lima under a López administration.
Godoy explained to the Blade that Popular Renewal won a majority in Lima’s Metropolitan Council (El Concejo Metropolitano.)
“Unfortunately, I don’t think any progress towards LGBTI rights in Lima is currently possible,” Godoy told the Blade. “I’m not only saying this because of Popular Renewal’s majority but also due to the fact that other parties who have won seats have not been inclined to defend the LGBTI agenda.”
Combined with President Pedro Castillo’s unsympathetic, leftist federal administration, the prospects for Lima’s LGBTQ community are not looking bright.
López is set to replace Lima’s incumbent mayor when his term ends on Dec. 31.
Chile
Chilean lawmakers back report that calls for suspension of program for trans children
Country’s first transgender congresswoman condemned May 15 vote
The Chilean Chamber of Deputies on May 15 approved a report that recommends the immediate suspension of a program that provides psychosocial support to transgender and gender non-conforming children and adolescents and their parents.
The 56-31 vote in favor of the Investigation Commission No. 57’s recommendations for the Gender Identity Support Program sparked outrage among activists in Chile and around the world. Six lawmakers abstained.
The report proposes the Health Ministry issue a resolution against puberty blockers, cross-hormonalization, and other hormonal treatments for minors, regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The report also suggests Chilean educational institutions should not respect trans students’ chosen names.
The report, among other recommendations, calls for a review of the background of all minors who are currently receiving hormone treatments. The report also calls for the reformulation of hormone therapy guidelines and sending this background information to the comptroller general.
Report ‘sets an ominous precedent’
Frente Amplio Congresswoman Emilia Schneider, the first trans woman elected to the Chilean Congress and a member of the commission, sharply criticized her colleagues who voted for the report.
“Today in the Chamber of Deputies the report of hatred against trans people was approved; a report that seeks to roll back programs so relevant for children, for youth, such as the Gender Identity Support Program; a program that, in addition, comes from the government of (the late-President) Sebastián Piñera,” Schneider told the Washington Blade. ”This is unacceptable because the right-wing yields to the pressures of the ultra-right and leaves the trans community in a very complex position.”
Schneider noted “this report is not binding; that is, its recommendations do not necessarily have to be taken into account, but it sets an ominous precedent.”
“We are going backwards on such basic issues as the recognition of the social name of trans students in educational establishments,” she said.
Ignacia Oyarzún, president of Organizing Trans Diversities, a Chilean trans rights group, echoed Schneider’s criticisms. commented to the Blade.
“We regret today’s shameful action in the Chamber of Deputies, where the CEI-57 report issued by the Republican Party was approved in a context of lies, misinformation and misrepresentation of reality,” Oyarzún told the Blade. “This only promotes the regression of public policies and conquered rights that have managed to save the lives of thousands of children in the last time.”
Oyarzún added the “slogan ‘children first’ proves to be an empty phrase without content used by those who today promote measures that push to suicide a significant number of children for the fact of being trans.”
The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBTQ rights group known by the acronym Movilh also condemned the approval of the report, calling it “transphobic” and accusing the commission of omitting the opinions of organizations and families that support the current policies.
Movilh notes lawmakers approved both the Gender Identity Law and Circular 812, which promotes respect for trans students’ rights, within the framework of an agreement with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
“The text of the approved report is scandalous, because it seeks to take away the access to health to trans minors, including denying them the psychosocial accompaniment that also includes their respective families,” said María José Cumplido, executive director of Fundación Iguales, another Chilean LGBTQ advocacy group. “Likewise, it attempts against school inclusion, since it intends to eliminate something as essential as the use of the social name in educational spaces. In short, it takes away rights and freedoms to trans people, especially to minors.”
Cumplido, like Schneider, pointed out that “although its content is not binding, we will be alert to the political and legislative consequences that it may produce and we will continue working to avoid setbacks with respect to the rights of trans people.”
The report’s approval reflects a global trend that has seen neighboring Argentina, the U.S., and other countries reserve policies for trans and nonbinary young people. The Peruvian Health Ministry recently classified gender identity as a mental illness, and lawmakers have passed a law that prevents trans people from using public restrooms based on their identity.
photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Experts and human rights activists warn the suspension of Chile’s Gender Identity Support Program and other programs could adversely impact the mental health of trans and nonbinary children who already face high levels of discrimination and are at heightened risk to die by suicide.
“We will defend the Gender Identity Support Program and the right to exist of trans children and youth across the country,” said Schneider. “I want to reassure the trans families of our country that we will not rest until our rights are respected and that we can continue advancing because there is still much to be conquered.”
Peru
Peruvian activists react to Pope Leo XIV’s election
American-born pontiff was bishop of Chiclayo
Pope Leo XIV’s election has sparked global reactions, but his appointment has struck a deeper chord in Peru.
The now-pontiff served for years as bishop of Chiclayo, a city in northern Peru. For LGBTQ leaders and activists in the country, Leo represents a figure who, while unlikely to overhaul church doctrine, could signal a shift towards a less hostile and more open Catholic Church.
“The fact that the new pope lived and served pastorally in Peru is no small thing,” said George Hale, director of Promsex, an advocacy group that is based in Lima, the Peruvian capital. “Leo XIV is deeply familiar with inequality, abuses of power, popular religiosity, and the pain of a society scarred by classism and exclusion. His support for victims of the Sodalitium scandal showed a courageous figure willing to listen when others remained silent.”
The Sodalitium of Christian Life, a Peruvian Catholic lay group implicated in cases of sexual and psychological abuse against minors, became one of the church’s worst scandals in Latin America. Leo’s direct involvement in sanctioning those responsible — and his central role in the group’s eventual dissolution — was widely viewed as a sign of his commitment to reform from within.
Former Congressman Alberto de Belaunde, one of Peru’s few openly gay political figures, also welcomed Leo’s election, describing his trajectory as “good news within the Vatican.” De Belaunde emphasized Leo’s time at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, where he served on the university’s assembly as the church’s representative.
“Unlike other pontifical universities, the PUCP is progressive and diverse,” De Belaunde said. “Monsignor Prevost always demonstrated a remarkable ability to dialogue and showed respect for differing views. That speaks volumes about both his intellectual and pastoral approach.”
The question still remains: How much could the church change under Leo’s papacy when it comes to LGBTQ rights?
“Sometimes, even just a change in tone makes a difference,” De Belaunde noted. “I grew up under the influence of Pope John Paul II and Bishop Cipriani, both known for confrontational rhetoric. When the pope says things like ‘Who am I to judge?’ — it doesn’t change doctrine, but it humanizes the discourse. And that matters.”
De Belaunde specifically referred to Pope Francis’s 2013 comments about gay priests. (The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ and intersex issues softened under Francis’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.)
“There are very conservative factions within the church, outright enemies of our rights,” said Congresswoman Susel Paredes, who is a lesbian. “But there’s also space for love of neighbor, as Jesus taught. Even if Pope Leo XIV were to chart a path toward full inclusion of LGBTQ people, resistance would remain. These things don’t change overnight.”
Paredes also highlighted Francis’s legacy — especially his vision of a synodal church. The Argentine-born pontiff who died on April 21 was Leo’s direct mentor.
“Pope Francis spoke of a church where ‘everyone, everyone, everyone’ walks together without distinction,” she said. “Leo XIV was already part of that vision when he worked in some of Peru’s poorest areas. That gives us hope and reason to watch his papacy with expectation.”
Activists, however, are clear-eyed about the limits of symbolic change.
“He (Leo) doesn’t appear to be a hostile figure,” Hale said. “But he’s not pushing for radical reform either. He won’t lead the fight for same-sex marriage or trans rights. But his more humane tone — his closeness to those on the margins — can help de-escalate hate speech, especially in a country like ours.”
Hale also pointed to a recent gesture from the new Leo that raised concerns: His public support for the Peruvian bishops’ statement opposing a court ruling that granted Ana Estrada, a woman with a degenerative disease, the right to die with dignity through euthanasia.
“By endorsing that statement, he reaffirmed official doctrine. And while he may be compassionate, he’s still aligned with traditional positions on some key issues,” Hale said. “That’s why we insist: We’re not expecting a revolution, but a shift in tone matters.”
Peru does not recognize same-sex marriages, and transgender people lack legal protections. Expectations about Leo’s papacy remain measured because church rhetoric remains a roadblock to civil rights.
“Rights are granted by laws, and the separation of church and state must remain fundamental,” said Paredes. “That’s where progress happens, in secular legislation.”
“Yes — it’s a breath of fresh air to have a pope who doesn’t slam the door shut, who has walked with Peru’s most excluded,” she added. “That gives us encouragement to keep going.”
Uruguay
Former Uruguayan president José Mujica dies at 89
One-time guerrilla fighter signed marriage equality law in 2012
Former Uruguayan President José “Pepe” Mujica died on Tuesday. He was 89.
Mujica, a farmer, was a member of Tupamaros National Liberation Movement, a leftist guerrilla group that carried out bank robberies and bombings and kidnapped politicians and businessmen in the South American country during the 1960s and 1970s.
Mujica spent nearly 15 years in prison. The right-wing military dictatorship that governed Uruguay from 1973-1985 tortured him and held him in solitary confinement for a decade.
Mujica in 1989 joined the Movement of Popular Participation, a party that is part of the Broad Front, a leftist political coalition. Mujica was Uruguay’s president from 2010-2015.
Laws that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples and legalized abortion took effect in 2013 and 2012 respectively. Mujica in 2013 also signed a law that legalized recreational marijuana in Uruguay.
Mujica earlier this year announced he would not undergo further treatment for esophagus cancer that had spread to his liver. The AP notes he died in his small house outside of Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital.
“With profound pain we announced that our friend Pepe Mujica has died,” said Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi, who currently leads the Broad Front, on X. “President, activist, guide, and leader. We are going to miss you very much, dear old man. Thank you for everything that you gave us and for your profound love for your people.”
Esteban Paulón, a gay congressman in neighboring Argentina, celebrated Mujica as a “guide” for “Latin American progressivism.”
“He made humility, honesty and austerity his hallmarks,” said Paulón on social media.
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