South America
Gay man’s murder in Argentina underscores growing concerns over hate crimes
Alejo Portillo stabbed 42 times last month in Misiones province
Authorities in Argentina’s Misiones province on Dec. 30 found a 20-year-old gay man dead with 42 stab wounds to his body.
Alejo Portillo was found in the town of Colonia Azara. His murder underscores an increase in hate crimes in Argentina over the last year, even though queer people have more rights than almost any other country in Latin America.
Data from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Federation of Argentina indicates hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity increased in Argentina in 2022. The group recorded 129 deaths last year, compared to 120 the previous year.
Portillo’s mother, Alejandra Benítez, found his body after she tirelessly searched for him when the Argentine police refused to help her. She said she sensed that something “horrible had happened to him” from the moment her son disappeared.
The main suspect is a 20-year-old man with whom Portillo was in love and with whom he had a hidden relationship. Argentine media reports indicate Portillo’s body was found naked and showed signs that he had been raped.
Benítez spoke with Misiones Cuatro TV, a local television station.
She said she saw her son for the last time on Dec. 28 when she said goodbye to him after he borrowed his sister’s bicycle.
“He was invited by someone he knew to the place where my son went,” said Benítez. “He wasn’t going to go to that place for nothing. He knew who he was going to meet.”
She said on Dec. 29 she was already worried because her son did not return to the house where he lived, and he was not answering her WhatsApp messages. Benítez began to search for him herself, even though she did not have access to a vehicle.
“I don’t know what happened, I can’t understand,” Benítez told Misiones Cuatro TV. “My son was not hurting anyone.”
A march took place in Colonia Azara a few weeks ago. Participants demanded justice for Portillo’s death and urged authorities to classify it as a hate crime.
Trans Travestis No Binarie Maricas Gay y Lesbianas de Oberá Misiones, a local queer rights group known by the acronym TTNBMGLOM, condemned Portillo’s murder and pointed out “we want to publicly pronounce our voices and feelings in relation to the murder of Ema Portillo (self-perceived as Alejo,) that occurred in the town of Azara-Misiones.”
“In view of the facts, we believe it is important to highlight and underline that the homicide of Alejo Portillo is a case of hate crime,” said TTNBMGLOM on Instagram. “Alejo was stabbed because he was homosexual, because of his orientation and gender identity. For being a person of non-heterosexual identity.”
“Alejo Portillo’s hate crime is clearly a symptom of the reality that LGTB existences and identities live in the province of Misiones, especially removed from the large urban epicenters,” María Alejandro, a nonbinary activist from Misiones, told the Washington Blade, referring to Buenos Aires, the country’s capital.
María Alejandro added “(people with) LGBT identities live in a situation of extreme discrimination, marginalization and violence. And this was what was happening to Alejo in his community. He was one of the few people who publicly expressed his identity and sexual orientation, therefore, he was clearly pushed towards exclusion and discrimination.”
María Alejandro said “the particularity of the crime, the excessive and symbolic violence that provokes Alejo’s death and the deep context of discrimination, stigmatization and marginalization that he lived in his community allow us to sustain that it is a hate crime. Alejo’s body shows clear signs of an act committed with a high degree of violence. There are 42 stab wounds.”
María Alejandro mentioned to Blade that they demand an investigation similar to the case of Evelyn Rojas, a transgender woman who was murdered by her partner in Misiones.
Authorities determined Rojas’ murder was a hate crime, and her partner last year received a life sentence.
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.
Chile
Chilean presidential election outcome to determine future of LGBTQ rights in country
Far-right candidate José Antonio Kast favored to win Dec. 14 runoff.
The results of Chile’s presidential election will likely determine the future of LGBTQ rights in the country.
While Congresswoman Emilia Schneider, the first transgender woman elected to Congress, managed to retain her seat on Sunday, the runoff to determine who will succeed outgoing President Gabriel Boric will take place on Dec. 14 and will pit two diametrically opposed candidates against each other: the far-right José Antonio Kast and Communist Jeannette Jara.
Schneider, an emblematic figure in the LGBTQ rights movement and one of the most visible voices on trans rights in Latin America, won reelection in a polarized environment. Human rights organizations see her continued presence in Congress as a necessary institutional counterweight to the risks that could arise if the far-right comes to power.
Kast v. Jara
The presidential race has become a source of concern for LGBTQ groups in Chile and international observers.
Kast, leader of the Republican Party, has openly expressed his rejection of gender policies, comprehensive sex education, and reforms to anti-discrimination laws.
Throughout his career, he has supported conservative positions aligned with sectors that question LGBTQ rights through rhetoric that activists describe as stigmatizing. Observers say his victory in the second-round of the presidential election that will take place on Dec. 14 could result in regulatory and cultural setbacks.
Jara, who is the presidential candidate for the progressive Unidad por Chile coalition, on the other hand has publicly upheld her commitment to equal rights. She has promised to strengthen mechanisms against discrimination, expand health policies for trans people, and ensure state protection against hate speech.
For Schneider, this new legislative period is shaping up to be a political and symbolic challenge.
Her work has focused on combating gender violence, promoting reform of the Zamudio Law, the country’s LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination and hate crimes law named after Daniel Zamudio, a gay man murdered in Santiago, the Chilean capital, in 2012, and denouncing transphobic rhetoric in Congress and elsewhere.
Schneider’s continued presence in Congress is a sign of continuity in the defense of recently won rights, but also a reminder of the fragility of those advances in a country where ideological tensions have intensified.
LGBTQ organizations point out that Schneider will be key to forging legislative alliances in a potentially divided Congress, especially if Kast consolidates conservative support.
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