Compass Gender: Puebla Votes to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

The Mexican state of Puebla voted to legalize same-sex marriage on November 3 (Wikimedia Commons).

The congress of the Mexican state of Puebla formally legalized same-sex marriage on November 3, becoming the 14th Mexican state to do so. A historically conservative state, the move to reform the Civil Code comes after a long series of legislative and judicial battles. 

Despite continuing advocacy across numerous states for same-sex marriage recognition, same-sex marriage is actually already legal across all of Mexico—sort of.

In 2015, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled in a landmark case that any state law restricting marriage to be between one man and one woman is discriminatory and unconstitutional. However, this did not strike down any of these state laws. Instead, it allowed same-sex couples to file injunctions against any law prohibiting same-sex marriage, which all courts in Mexico were required to approve. 

While this did essentially legalize same-sex marriage throughout the country, couples in states without formal marriage equality laws still must have the time and money to file an injunction. The Supreme Court required that each state write marriage equality into law, but it had no means of enforcing this requirement other than ruling laws prohibiting same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

In Puebla, the Supreme Court pursued this route in 2016, ruling that three articles in the state’s civil code that defined marriage and concubinage as being between a man and a woman were unconstitutional. So while same-sex marriage was already legal in the state, last week’s reforms were meant to formally incorporate marriage equality into the civil code. 

“The representatives did not vote for legalization of marriage equality. That has already been a reality in all of Mexico since 2015,” said LGBTQ+ rights activist César Briceño Castro. “What the representatives did vote for was to eliminate from the family code the obstacles that impeded members of the LGBTQ+ community from accessing these rights: they voted to stop discriminating against same-sex couples.”

While the LGBTQ+ community celebrates this win in Puebla, many remain fighting in similar legislative battles in other Mexican states. In Yucatán, for instance, the state’s congress voted against marriage equality laws in a secret vote, setting in motion an ongoing legal battle. Activists argue that secret votes are only allowed during nomination processes and that the vote was illegal. The case has made its way up to the Supreme Court, which has yet to make a ruling. 

At a 2009 march for marriage equality in Mexico City, protesters carry a sign reading “I didn’t come to the march because I was murdered” (Wikimedia Commons). 

However, marriage equality is only one step to stopping discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. Conversion therapy still remains legal in most states throughout Mexico, including Puebla. Furthermore, violence against LGBTQ+ individuals is common. In 2019 alone, at least 117 members of the LGBTQ+ community were murdered.

Activist Ricardo Baruch recognizes that this most recent reform is a sign of progress, but warns that there are other issues that require attention. These include eradicating conversion therapy and violence against LGBTQ+ people as well as approving gender-identity laws and decriminalizing abortion. Many of these are issues that the congress has shied away from in the past. However, as next July’s congressional elections approach, these issues are certain to be brought back into the spotlight.