MEXICO CITY (CN) - Hundreds of trans community members assembled at Mexico City's Monument to the Revolution Tuesday to celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility for the fifth straight year. They then closed off a main avenue in the city's historic center on the way to Mexico's main square in front of the Presidential Palace, demanding equal labor rights and visibility in Mexican society.
"We're marching here because we demand trans rights, specifically an employment quota. We have a significant percentage as a trans population, and it's not enough that both companies and the government exclude us from something we have a right to and that we have been excluded from for many years. But above all, today is a day for the world - International Day of Visibility - and today we're celebrating our fifth anniversary here in Mexico City," said Megan Garcia of the National Coalition of Trans People.
In November 2023, Morena Party congresswoman Maria Clemente Garcia Moreno introduced the General Law on Comprehensive Access to the Rights of Trans Persons, a federal law to protect the rights and care of trans people, which includes comprehensive health access, legalized dignified health treatment and health access free from psychological evaluation.
In February of 2024, the Mexican National Commission of Human Rights urgently recommended that the Mexican government make the initiative law, which is still pending.
In October 2024, a 3% workplace quota was proposed by Alberto Vanegas Arenas but is still under consideration and has not passed.
In November 2017, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found that the genders of trans and nonbinary people must be legally recognized, though not every Mexican state recognizes legal gender recognition.
Drag Kimera from Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl in the neighboring State of Mexico, one of many trans women drawn to the march, said she went to the march in solidarity and for better visibility for the trans population in Mexico.
"We came here to support and give this visibility together with each and every one of our trans sisters and brothers," said Kimera.
"We are here to put an end to being marginalized. We are not here just demanding our rights to be respected but rather to demand that we be given our rights under the law. And the government needs to respond to the trans population's demands," said Miguel Martinez from Ecatepec, also in the State of Mexico.
Miss Gaviota, Mexico's first trans woman professional Lucha Libre wrestler, said she is also marching for her rights.
"I'm here on the street because I'm demonstrating for my rights because I believe that all trans women deserve the same rights as women," said Miss Gaviota.
There were 701 recorded transfemicides between 2008 and 2023 in Mexico, but because there is no official record, the number is estimated to be much higher.
On July 18, 2024, the Mexican Congress formalized the Ley Paola Buenrostro, named after a trans activist who was murdered in 2016, making the specific crime of femicide punishable by up to 70 years in prison.
Source: Courthouse News Service
