Mexico City lawmakers made a leap yesterday to become the first city in Latin America to allow gay marriage, passing a bill that is widely expected to be signed into law by the leftist mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, of the Democratic Revolution Party.
However, the left may be going a little too far for the liking of strongly conservative and Roman Catholic Mexico, not to mention the whole of Latin America. The bill, although it has given hope to liberals across the continent, threatens to pull the two sides further apart.
The assembly has already stepped on conservatives’ toes with a number of unpopular decisions, including legalising abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. That decision was followed by a backlash, with the majority of Mexico’s other 32 states enacting legislation stating life begins at conception. Roughly 90 per cent of Mexico’s 108 million-strong population identify themselves as Catholic.
Moreover, while certain cities in South America do permit same-sex civil unions, the halting of possibly the continent’s most controversial marriage earlier this month is a reminder that there is only so much that Latin Americans are willing to accept.
The Argentinians Alex Freyre and José Maria di Bello were to be married on 1 December after they were granted a marriage licence by a city court judge who ruled that it was unconstitutional for civil law to stipulate that a marriage can exist only between a man and a woman. The ruling, which was greeted with furious debate in the media and hostile posters across Buenos Aires, was halted by another judge.
Despite the murmurs of discontent, it appears that Mexico City legislators, who have also already legalised abortion, have more up their sleeve. According to the BBC, a spokesman told the AFP news agency that city legislators were now including a measure in the bill that would allow married same-sex couples to adopt children.
President Felipe Calderón’s conservative National Action Party, or PAN, has vowed to challenge the gay marriage law in the courts. Church leaders are also expected to pressure Ebrard to veto the bill.
“Recognising homosexual civil unions as marriage goes against the public good and the emotional development of our children,” Giovanni Gutierrez, a PAN city lawmaker, told the Financial Times.
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