South America
Advocacy group urges Chileans to vote against proposed constitution
Fundación Iguales says proposal does not sufficiently protect LGBTQ people
Chile’s proposed new constitution has generated concern and criticism among the country’s LGBTQ activists who say it would not sufficiently protect the rights of sexual and gender minorities.
Fundación Iguales, one of the country’s most prominent LGBTQ rights organizations, has urged Chileans to vote against the proposed constitution in the referendum that will take place on Dec. 17.
The plebiscite is the second attempt in less than three years to change Chile’s constitution in the wake of widespread protests and social arrests that took place in October 2019.
Chileans on Sept. 4, 2022, rejected the Constitutional Convention’s proposed constitution. This rejection initiated the 2023 process in which the ultra-right won the majority of seats in the Constitutional Council, the body that wrote the new text on which Chileans will vote in December.
Fundación Iguales Executive Director María José Cumplido explained the reasons behind her organization’s position.
“Our position as a foundation is to vote against this proposal because of the conscientious objection without limits, the lack of a robust nondiscrimination principle, a misconception of the best interests of children and adolescents and the weakness in the sexual and reproductive rights of women and pregnant women,” she told the Washington Blade.
Cumplido warned the lack of a nondiscrimination principle in the proposed constitution could lead to a State that does not focus on implementing public policies to prevent discrimination. Cumplido said this omission could translate into a lack of training for civil servants, insufficient sex education and obstacles to access to justice, among other consequences.
Paloma Zúñiga, a former constitutional counselor for the leftist Democratic Revolution party who participated in the constitution drafting process and is an LGBTQ ally, told the Blade there are serious problems with the draft in regards to queer issues.
“First, (there is) an overly broad conscientious objection could allow discrimination on religious grounds in education, health care, commerce, among others,” she said. “For example, a restaurant could expel a lesbian couple for kissing, a hospital could refuse to treat a trans person or not allow LGBTQ students in classrooms.”
Zúñiga added a second concern is “the absence of a nondiscrimination principle robust enough to oblige the state to prevent discrimination considering that violence against queer people has increased.” The final issue, according to Zúñiga, is “the weakness of the rights of children and adolescents, especially in terms of their autonomy and free development of personality, which could directly affect trans children.”
Cumplido agrees with Zúñiga regarding the problems the enshrining of conscientious objection in the new constitution could bring. The activist highlighted international examples, such as the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores case in the U.S., where conscientious objection was used to reopen debates on rights already democratically resolved. This legal precedent could be replicated in various situations in Chile, especially given the breadth of the amendment.
Zúñiga, who belongs to a political party that supports President Gabriel Boric, said “we must vote against it because it is a great risk and setback for LGBTQ people and the rights conquered in recent years.”
“As a left sector we did everything possible to eliminate the amendments that harmed LGBTQ+, and even improve their quality of life through a new constitution, but the Republican Party with its majority blocked all our attempts,” she explained.
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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