South America
USAID seeks to bolster LGBTQ rights efforts in Colombia
LGBTQ-inclusive peace agreement took effect in 2016
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2021/09/Larry_Sacks_insert_courtesy_USAID.jpg)
BOGOTĆ, Colombia ā The director of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Colombia mission says he and his colleagues remain committed to the implementation of the country’s LGBTQ-inclusive peace agreement.
“The entire portfolio that we have and all of our work here in Colombia is really to support a durable and an inclusive piece,” Larry Sacks told the Los Angeles Blade on Sept. 21 during an interview in BogotĆ”, the Colombian capital. “The core principles of what we do are based on equality, inclusion, rights and justice.”
The agreement then-President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Commander Rodrigo “Timochenko” LondoƱo signed in Cartagena on Sept. 26, 2016, specifically acknowledged LGBTQ Colombians as victims of the decades-long conflict that killed more than 200,000 people. The accord also called for their participation in the country’s political process.
Wilson CastaƱeda, director of Caribe Afirmativo, an LGBTQ group in northern Colombia with which USAID works, is one of three activists who participated in the peace talks that took place in Havana.
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Colombian voters on Oct. 2, 2016, narrowly rejected the agreement in a referendum that took place against the backdrop of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from religious and conservative groups. Santos and LondoƱo less than two months later signed a second peace agreement ā which also contains LGBTQ-specific references ā in BogotĆ”.
“That was a very progressive move,” said Sacks in describing the inclusion of LGBTQ Colombians in the agreement.
President IvĆ”n Duque, who campaigned against the agreement ahead of his 2018 election, spoke to the U.N. General Assembly hours before the Blade interviewed Sacks. Duque described it as “fragile.”
“Peace accords worldwide tend to be made or broken within the first five years of implementation, and Colombia is right at that point,” Sacks told the Blade when asked about Duque’s comments. “There are certain people deep in the territories and others and high governments who are really helping and making sure that it’s successful, and that there’s continuity, and that the gains that have been made are irreversible. And there’s others who may question, but at the end of the day, I think that from our analysis, it’s on pace with what we’ve seen of the implementation of other peace accords worldwide.”
“At least from USAID’s perspective, we’re doing everything that we can to help support the implementation on multiple chapters of the peace accord,” he added.
USAID specifically supports the implementation of rural development programs through the agreement, efforts to reintegrate former child soldiers into Colombian society and expand the government’s presence into “violence-affected areas.” USAID also works with the Truth Commission, the Unit for the Search of Disappeared Persons, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, the government’s Victims’ Unit and NGOs that support the conflict’s victims.
USAID’s fiscal year 2021 budget for Colombia is $212.9 million. Upwards of $50 million of this money is earmarked for human rights work that specifically focuses on indigenous Colombians and Colombians of African descent, security, access to the country’s justice system and victims of the conflict.
More than 200 LGBTQ Colombians reported murdered in 2020
Sacks said USAID’s LGBTQ-specific work in Colombia focuses on four specific areas.
“The first is really to kind of shine a light on, raise the visibility, raise the profile on issues of discrimination and violence and stigma and all the issues that this population is facing,” he said.
Colombia Diversa, a Colombian LGBTQ rights group, on Sept. 15 issued a report that notes 226 LGBTQ people were reported murdered in the country in 2020. This figure is more than twice the number of LGBTQ Colombians ā 107 ā who Colombia Diversa said were known to have been killed in 2019.
Sacks acknowledged anti-LGBTQ violence is increasing in Colombia.
He said the mission works with Ombudsman’s Office of Colombia, an independent agency within the Colombian government that oversees human rights protections in the country, to provide additional support to LGBTQ rights groups. Sacks noted USAID also works with the Interior Ministry to “support the development of their LGBTQI-plus policies” and the country’s attorney general “to hold those accountable.”
Sacks told the Blade that USAID also works to provide “technical and legal support to help” LGBTQ Colombians and other vulnerable groups “access public goods, services and justice.”
USAID-supported groups assist Venezuelan migrants
The Colombian government earlier this year said there were more than 1.7 million Venezuelan migrants in the country, although activists and HIV/AIDS service providers with whom the Blade has spoken say this figure is likely much higher. Duque in February announced it would legally recognize Venezuelan migrants who are registered with the country’s government.
The Coordination Platform for Migrants and Refugees from Venezuela notes upwards of 5.4 million Venezuelans have left the country as of November 2020 as its economic and political crisis grows worse. The majority of them have sought refuge in Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Chile.
Venezuelan migrants are among the upwards of 570,000 people who have benefitted from a USAID program that provides direct cash assistance ā between $49-$95 per family ā for six months in order to purchase food and other basic needs. USAID also supports Americares, a Connecticut-based NGO that operates several clinics along the Colombia-Venezuelan border and in northern Colombia that specifically serve Venezuelan migrants with the support of the Colombian Health Ministry.
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Sacks noted USAID has an “agreement with” Aid for AIDS International, a New York-based group that serves Venezuelans with HIV/AIDS. Aid for AIDS International has used this support to conduct a survey of 300 sex workers in Maicao, MedellĆn and Cali.
USAID is also working with the Health Ministry to provide health care to Venezuelan migrants with HIV/AIDS, among others, who are now legally recognized in Colombia.
Caribe Afirmativo has opened three “Casas Afirmativos” in Maicao, Barranquilla and MedellĆn that provide access to health care and other services to Venezuelan migrants who are LGBTQ and/or living with HIV/AIDS. MedellĆn officials have also invited Caribe Afirmativo staffers to speak with LGBTQ migrants in the city’s public schools.
“Colombia has shown a generosity that you don’t see in many other countries with regard to migrant populations,” Sacks told the Blade. “They really open their borders, their homes, their hearts, to migrants, including the LGBTI community.”
Biden global LGBTQ rights memo is ‘tremendous benefit’
The White House earlier this year released a memorandum that committed the U.S. to promoting LGBTQ rights abroad. State Department spokesperson Ned Price in May told the Blade the protection of LGBTQ migrants and asylum seekers is one of the Biden administration’s priorities on this front.
Sacks said the memo “gives us the political framework with which to operate and obviously sends a message from the highest levels of the U.S. government about LGBTQI-plus rights and equality and inclusion.”
“So for us, it’s a tremendous benefit,” he told the Blade.
USAID Administrator Samantha Power ā a vocal champion of LGBTQ rights ā has yet to visit Colombia, but Sacks said she has spoken with Vice President Marta LucĆa RamĆrez.
“We hope to get her down,” said Sacks.
Editor’s note: Michael K. Lavers was on assignment in Colombia from Sept. 11-22.
South America
Chilean capital Pride parade participants, activists attacked
Men wearing hoodies disrupted June 29 event in Santiago
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A group of hooded men on June 29 attacked LGBTQ activists and others who participated in the Chilean capital’s annual Pride parade.
Witnesses said the men punched and kicked activists and parade participants, threatened them with a skateboard, threw stones and paint at floats and damaged parade infrastructure. The men also broke a truck’s headlight.
The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBTQ rights group known by the acronym Movilh, strongly condemned the acts of violence, calling them deliberate attempts to disrupt a peaceful and safe demonstration.
āVandalism that seeks to transgress the peaceful trajectory of our demonstrations and that is only useful to the interests of the homo/transphobic sectors,” denounced Movilh.
The attack occurred when the hooded men tried to break through the security fence protecting the participants and the truck that was at the beginning of the parade.
“As we do every year, we fence the truck with our volunteers to prevent anyone from being run over or hurt by the wheels,” said Movilh. “The hooded men approached the fence to break it, hitting our volunteers and people outside of our organization with their feet and fists who, in an act of solidarity, tried to dissuade them.”
The motives behind this attack seem to be related to previous calls on social networks to boycott the event, although the organizers stressed that violent acts are alien to the parade’s inclusive and celebratory purpose.
Movilh spokesperson Javiera ZĆŗƱiga told the Washington Blade that “after the attack that we faced during the Pride March, we published in our social networks the few images that were available from that moment.”
“What we are basically asking is that anyone who has seen something and can recognize any of the aggressors write to our email or (contact us) through our social networks so that we can file complaints and do whatever is necessary to find those responsible.”
ZĆŗƱiga stated that “not only was there aggression against people, but there was also damage to private property because they broke one of the truck’s headlights.”
“So for these two reasons we are looking for anyone who may have information to contact us,” she said.
The incident has generated widespread condemnation within the LGBTQ community and outside of it. They say it highlights the need to protect human rights and diversity and promote respect for them.
South America
Chilean lawmakers reject proposed nondiscrimination law reforms
The proposed reformās rejection represents a significant setback in the fight for nondiscrimination and equal rights in Chile
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2024/06/20240604_Emilia_Schneider_insert_courtesy_Emilia_Schneider-1.jpg)
By Esteban Rioseco | VALPARAĆSO, Chile – A political earthquake took place in Chile on Tuesday when the Chamber of Deputies rejected proposed reforms to the countryās nondiscrimination law.
The proposed reformsā objective is āto strengthen the prevention of discrimination and to promote and guarantee in a better way the principle of equality.ā Lawmakers in 2012 approved the law, also called the Zamudio Law, named in honor of Daniel Zamudio, a gay 24-year-old man who lost his life after a group of neo-Nazis attacked him in San Borja Park in Santiago, the countryās capital.
Lawmakers by a 69-63 vote margin rejected the proposed reform that President Gabriel Boricās government introduced. Thirteen deputies abstained.
The Chilean Senate has already approved the proposal. A commission of lawmakers from both chambers of Congress will now consider it.
Most ruling party members supported the bill, while the opposition rejected it as a block.
Congressman CristĆ³bal Urruticoechea, who is a close Republican Party ally, defended his vote against the bill.Ā
āOf course we must respect the deviation of others, but it does not have to be an obligation to applaud them or to tell our children that there are more than two types of sexes, because that is not discrimination,ā he said.
Emilia Schneider, the countryās first transgender congresswoman, said āunfortunately the majority of the House (of Deputies) has rejected the protection of victims of discrimination.ā
āThis is not understandable, it is unacceptable and we are here with a group of civil society organizations to call upon the majority of parliamentarians to reconsider so that we can fix this disaster in the mixed commission,ā she said. āWe have been waiting a long time for a reform to the Anti-Discrimination Law. We have been waiting a long time for an institutional framework that promotes equality and inclusion in our country because today lives continue to be lost due to discrimination and we cannot continue to tolerate that.ā
āUnfortunately, today the Chamber of Deputies is once again turning its back on the citizenry,ā added Schneider.
Rolando JimĆ©nez, director of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, the countryās main queer organization known by the acronym Movilh, in a statement said ātoday we went back to the past, to the 90s, to the darkest moments for LGBTQ+ people and discriminated sectors.āĀ
āFar-right congressmen went to the extreme of describing LGBTQ+ people as deviants during the debate in the Chamber,ā he said. āWe are in the presence of the worst legislative scenario for nondiscrimination of which we have ever had record. It is, by all accounts, a civilizational setback.ā
MarĆa JosĆ© Cumplido, the executive director of FundaciĆ³n Iguales, another Chilean advocacy group, told the Washington Blade that ālies were installedā during the debate.
āThis is not a bad law,ā she said. āIt is a law that follows international standards that prevent discrimination and that improves peopleās quality of life.ā
āWe have been talking about security and discrimination for years, it is a security problem that hundreds and thousands of people live with,ā added Cumplido. āWe want this project to continue advancing so that the State can prevent discrimination and that people can choose their life projects in freedom.ā
āWe will continue the fightā
The proposed reformās rejection represents a significant setback in the fight for nondiscrimination and equal rights in Chile.
The proposal sought to establish an anti-discrimination institutional framework, as well as to broaden the possibilities of compensation for victims of discrimination. It also sought to raise the maximum fines for discriminatory acts and to strengthen the Stateās anti-discrimination policies.
āWe will not lower our flags,ā said JimĆ©nez. āWe will continue the fight in the Joint Commission.ā
Movilh has urged LGBTQ Chileans and families to protest against the vote during the annual Santiago Pride march that will take place on June 29.
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![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2023/11/Esteban-Alonso-Enrique-Guzman-Rioseco.jpg)
Esteban Rioseco is a Chilean digital communicator, LGBT rights activist and politician. He was spokesperson and executive president of the Homosexual Integration and Liberation Movement (Movilh). He is currently a Latin American correspondent for the Washington Blade.
On Oct. 22, 2015, together with Vicente Medel, he celebrated the first gay civil union in Chile in the province of ConcepciĆ³n.
South America
La Pesada Subversiva in Bolivia battles anti-LGBTQ digital hate
āIn this region, far-right and ultra-religious narratives are prevalent, pushed by very conservative authorities”
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2024/05/La_Pesada_Subversiva_in_Santa_Cruz_Bolivia_insert_1_courtesy_La_Pesada_Subversiva.jpg)
By Gabriela RodrĆguez HernĆ”ndez and SiĆ¢n Kavanagh | SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia – In Bolivia, the collective La Pesada Subversiva faced an onslaught of digital violence they could have never imagined after showcasing their LGBTQ artwork. Thanks to Hivosā Digital Defenders Partnership, they received critical support and training to protect themselves, and now have tools to fight against online aggression.
La Pesada Subversiva (The Subversive Troublemakers), a trans, feminist, and sexually diverse collective in Bolivia, has emerged as a form of resistance to patriarchy and gender-based violence. Founded in 2018 in Santa Cruz, one of Boliviaās most conservative regions, the collective uses various art forms ā audiovisual, writing, street happenings, and social media content ā to express their views in demonstrations, protests, and the virtual realm.
Cristian EgĆ¼ez (he/him), one of the founders, explains, āIn this region, far-right and ultra-religious narratives are prevalent, pushed by very conservative authorities. In such a tough context, collectives are needed with the courage to confront them and maintain a critical approach to the violence that occurs.ā
Pride Month and ensuing violence
The Altillo Benni Museum, the largest in the city, commemorated Pride Month for the first time on June 1, 2022. They opened an LGBTQ art exhibition called āRevoluciĆ³n Orgulloā or āPride Revolutionā led by La Pesada Subversiva. The collectiveās groundbreaking LGBTQ art exhibition faced vehement opposition.
āWe adorned the museum facade with trans and LGBTIQ+ flags,ā EgĆ¼ez recounts, ābut it lasted less than a day because a group of neighbors came to protest violently and aggressively.ā
Despite this, the exhibition attracted over 400 visitors, demonstrating growing public support for their cause.
Confronting online harassment
To the collectiveās surprise, the museumās director defended the exhibition, stating that no artwork would be removed, and the exhibition would remain until the end of the month. But then an unimaginable wave of digital violence hit them. EgĆ¼ez recalls the aftermath: āThe event left us emotionally devastated. Throughout that year, every day, we had to endure threats and harassment online.ā
Alejandra Menacho (she/her), another founder of La Pesada Subversiva, shares her experience, saying, āThey threatened to rape me, to teach me how to be a woman. It overwhelmed us; it started to really hurt because we felt ā¦ everything we said or did was being surveilled.ā The collective faced constant harassment on social media, with anti-rights groups monitoring their activities and scaring them with false threats.
Seeking protection from the Digital Defenders Partnership
As the onslaught escalated, the collective sought refuge and support. They applied for a grant from the DDP to get digital protection and security. With DDPās assistance, they underwent comprehensive training in digital security measures, enabling them to protect their online presence effectively. The members learned to protect themselves and their accounts, not to publish certain things, and to be cautious about disclosing their whereabouts. DDPās training gave them a comprehensive understanding of digital security tools and provided clear guidelines for dealing with future incidents and how to report them.
In addition to these digital security skills, they learned physical self-defense techniques, blending martial arts with a feminist approach.
āThis has strengthened us immensely. Now we understand digital security holistically and are always safeguarding our networks,ā Menacho emphasizes.
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/05/La_Pesada_Subversiva_in_Santa_Cruz_Bolivia_insert_2_courtesy_La_Pesada_Subversiva.jpg)
(Photo courtesy of La Pesada Subversiva)
The ongoing struggle of online resilience
Despite the challenges, La Pesada Subversiva remains steadfast in their mission.
āDigital security must be integrated across the board; itās not something you attend a workshop for and forget. It must be practiced continually,ā EgĆ¼ez asserts.
For Menacho, even though she has experienced a lot of frustration and anger, learning to combine these digital tools with psychology and art has helped her express themselves and achieve emotional balance.
āBecause we are rebellious, we want to do these things. Also, because we donāt want these injustices to continue in Santa Cruz. Thatās why we keep coming back and reinventing ourselves,ā Menacho said.
La Pesada Subversivaās journey exemplifies the resilience and determination of marginalized communities in the face of adversity. Through collective empowerment and solidarity, they navigate the complexities of digital violence, emerging stronger and more united in their pursuit of equality and justice.
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The Digital Defenders Partnership (DDP), managed by Hivos, is an emergency grant mechanism for digital activists under threat launched by theĀ Freedom Online CoalitionĀ in 2012. It provides a holistic response to digital threats and creates resilient and sustainable networks of support to human rights defenders.
South America
Argentina charges 10 police officers with murder of trans woman
The case has uncovered not only entrenched institutional violence, but also the ongoing struggle against impunity for hate crimes
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2024/05/Mabel_Valdez_insert_courtesy-1.jpg)
By Esteban Rioseco | LA PLATA, Argentina ā Argentine authorities have arrested 10 police officers and charged them with murdering a transgender woman in 2023.
In the historic development in the fight for LGBTQ+ justice in the country, the officers who were arrested on May 1 face murder and hate crime charges in connection with Sofia FernĆ”ndez’s brutal death on April 11, 2023. The case has uncovered not only entrenched institutional violence, but also the ongoing struggle against impunity for hate crimes.
The initial investigation, which began last September, faced numerous obstacles, with only three points of expertise completed out of the 16 required for a formal indictment. Ignacio Fernandez, a lawyer who represents Sofia FernĆ”ndez’s family, told the Washington Blade “the family’s lack of confidence in the initial prosecutor led to his departure, which coincided with my arrival to the investigation in September of last year, collaborating in an arduous but vital investigation.”
Ignacio FernƔndez described the long process to unravel the truth behind the brutal murder.
The legal and forensic teams faced numerous challenges that included coordination with gender-specialized prosecutors to the meticulous analysis of thousands of pieces of data on seized cell phones.
“The forensic report revealed the gruesome nature of the crime; Sofia was killed by asphyxiation with a piece of mattress and her own underwear, in addition to suffering beatings and physical torture,” Ignacio FernĆ”ndez told the Blade. “SofĆa was kept alone in a cell of the 5th Police Station of Pilar, under the custody of the police of the province of Buenos Aires, which triggered an intense scrutiny of the conduct of the police forces.”
The indictment, according to Ignacio FernĆ”ndez, charges the three policemen with “triple homicide qualified by hatred of their sexual orientation, by the premeditated participation of three or more persons and by the abuse of their position as policemen; while the remaining seven policemen are implicated for the double qualified cover-up for being a very serious crime and for the abuse of their position as policemen in competition with the falsification of public documents.”
“The application of a gender perspective in the judicial process has been crucial, underlining the importance of recognizing and addressing violence directed towards transgender people,” he added.
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/05/Ignacio_Fernandez_insert_courtesy_Ignacio_Fernandez.jpg)
The road to justice, however, has been far from smooth.
Despite the arrests, defense lawyers have requested the dismissal of certain charges, arguing the lack of hearings with the victim and rulings that could be questionable in their gender-specific perspective.
Sofia FernĆ”ndez’s family, fearful for her safety, hopes the defendants will remain in pre-trial detention during the judicial process. They also yearn for a speedy and fair trial, aware that prolonged time may undermine the search for truth and justice.
Ignacio FernĆ”ndez indicated “the inaction of the Ministry of Women of the province of Buenos Aires” is serious because “on the other hand, the defense lawyers of all the police officers charged are from the Police Legal Department of the Ministry of Security of the province of Buenos Aires and have proposed as expert witnesses experts belonging to the same ministry, with the conflicts of interest that all this entails.”
Although the judicial investigation could take between two and four months, with possible delays due to legal appeals, it is estimated the trial could be delayed at least another year. The fight for justice, in the meantime, continues with the hope that Sofia FernĆ”ndez’s case will set a precedent in the fight against transphobic violence and impunity in Argentina.
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![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2023/11/Esteban-Alonso-Enrique-Guzman-Rioseco.jpg)
Esteban Rioseco is a Chilean digital communicator, LGBT rights activist and politician. He was spokesperson and executive president of the Homosexual Integration and Liberation Movement (Movilh). He is currently a Latin American correspondent for the Washington Blade.
On Oct. 22, 2015, together with Vicente Medel, he celebrated the first gay civil union in Chile in the province of ConcepciĆ³n.
South America
Peru classifies transgender people as mentally ill
President Dina Boluarte signed decree on May 10
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2024/05/Government_Palace_in_Lima_Peru_insert_Peruvian_government.jpg)
LIMA, Peru ā The Peruvian government on May 10 published a decree that classifies transgender people as mentally ill.
Human Rights Watch on Wednesday noted the country’s Essential Health Insurance Plan that President Dina Boluarte, Health Minister CĆ©sar VĆ”squez and Economic and Finance Minister JosĆ© Arista signed references “ego-dystonic sexual orientation.” The decree also notes, among other things, “transsexualism” and “gender identity disorder in childhood.
Human Rights Watch in its press releaseĀ notesĀ the Health Ministry subsequently said it does not view LGBTQ identities as “illnesses.” Peruvian LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, however, have sharply criticized the decree.
“This decision is an alarming setback in our fight for the human rights of trans people in Peru, and it represents a serious danger to our health and well-being,” said Miluska LuzquiƱos, a trans activist who works with the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Trans People, which is known by the Spanish acronym REDLACTRANS, on her Facebook page.
A lack of legal recognition and protections has left trans Peruvians vulnerable to discrimination and violence.
Luisa Revilla in 2014 became the first trans person elected in Peru when she won a seat on the local council in La Esperanza, a city in the northwestern part of the country.
She left office in 2019. Revilla died from COVID-19 in 2021.
South America
Lesbian couple dead after arson attack in Buenos Aires
LGBTQ groups in Argentina described the blaze as a hate crime because he had already threatened to kill the women because they are lesbians
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2024/05/Screenshot-from-Video-taken-of-the-room-where-woemn-diied-in-BA.jpg)
Editor’s note: Andrea Amarante on Sunday died from injuries she sustained in the fire.
By Esteban Rioseco | BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Two people died and at least five others were injured on Monday when a man threw a Molotov cocktail into the room of a Buenos Aires boarding house in which two lesbian couples lived.
The fire took place at around 1 a.m. in a house at 1600 OlavarrĆa St., between Isabel la CatĆ³lica and Montes de Ocoa in Buenos Airesās Barracas neighborhood. The blaze forced roughly 30 people to evacuate, and the injured were taken to local hospitals.
Police say Justo Fernando Barrientos, 68, sprayed fuel and set fire to the room where Mercedes Figueroa, 52, lived together with Pamela Fabiana Cobas, 52, and SofĆa Castro Riglos, 49, and Andrea Amarante, 42.
Figueroa and Cobas both died. Castro and Amarante are hospitalized at Penna Hospital in Buenos Aires.
Witnesses say the fire started on the second floor when Barrientos threw a Molotov cocktail inside the womenās room, and it soon spread throughout the property. LGBTQ organizations in Argentina have described the blaze as a hate crime because Barrientos had already threatened to kill the women because they are lesbians.
āWe are in a rather complex context, where from the apex of power, the president himself and his advisors and downwards permanently instill a hate speech, instilling it when they close the (National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism or INADI), stigmatizing the population that is there and the vulnerable groups,ā Congressman Esteban PaulĆ³n, a well-known LGBTQ activist, told the Washington Blade.
āAll this is generating a climate of violence,ā he said. āThe fact that it happened in the city of Buenos Aires, which is terrible ā¦ has to be investigated.ā
PaulĆ³n said President Javier Mileiās government has installed in the public discourse speeches and actions against the LGBTQ community that have provoked more violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
āAll that is installed ā¦ and then there are people who fail to make a mediation of that, that fail to make a critical analysis of that and can end up generating an act of hatred like this, which is tragic and that already took the lives of two people,ā he said.
The Argentine LGBT+ Federation on social media said it was looking for the victimsā families and friends, but has yet to be able to connect with them.
āWe are going to stand by them, making ourselves available for whatever they and their families need, and we will closely follow the court case so that there is justice,ā said the organization. āBut we cannot fail to point out that hate crimes are the result of a culture of violence and discrimination that is sustained on hate speeches that today are endorsed by several officials and referents of the national government.ā
100% Diversidad y Derechos, another advocacy group, demanded the investigation address the attack āwith a gender perspective and as motivated by hatred towards lesbian identity.ā
Barrientos has been arrested, and will be charged with murder. Activists have requested authorities add discrimination and hate provisions to the charges.
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![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2023/11/Esteban-Alonso-Enrique-Guzman-Rioseco.jpg)
Esteban Rioseco is a Chilean digital communicator, LGBT rights activist and politician. He was spokesperson and executive president of the Homosexual Integration and Liberation Movement (Movilh). He is currently a Latin American correspondent for the Washington Blade.
On Oct. 22, 2015, together with Vicente Medel, he celebrated the first gay civil union in Chile in the province of ConcepciĆ³n.
South America
Argentina government dismisses trans public sector employees
āThis sadism of ā¦ inflicting pain and speculating with your misfortune and so on ā¦ is something that characterizes Javier Mileiās governmentā
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2024/04/Sofia_Diaz_insert_1_courtesy_Sofia_Diaz-1.jpg)
By Esteban Rioseco | BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Protests have broken out across Argentina in recent weeks after the dismissal of transgender people from their government jobs.
President Javier Mileiās action is in stark contract with the progress seen in 2023, where the governmentās hiring of trans people increased by 900 percent within the framework of the Trans Labor Quota Law that had been in place since 2021.
Among those affected is Sofia Diaz, a āsurvivorā who shared her testimony with the Washington Blade hours after she traveled from Chaco Province to Buenos Aires to protest her dismissal.
Presentes, an LGBTQ news agency, reported the government dismissed more than 85 trans employees in less than two weeks.
Diaz, 49, holds a degree in combined arts. She joined the National Social Security Administration (ANSES) in 2022 under the Trans Labor Inclusion Law. The layoffs began in January and left many people feeling uncertain and anguished. It was her turn a few days ago.
Diaz in an interview recounted how the situation became progressively more complicated, with difficulties in accessing information about her employment status and the eventual confirmation of dismissals through WhatsApp messages. This government action, according to Diaz, violates the law.
āWe were on a Friday, I think on March 24, in the office and we have a WhatsApp group of other colleagues from all over Argentina who entered through the trans labor quota and they tell us if we can get our pay stubs on the intranet,ā Diaz recalled. āSo, I tried to enter, I could not, I talked to two other colleagues and they told me no, they could not, and so we went to another person. He couldnāt either.ā
āSome people told us that it could be a system error. Well, we were never calm, letās say not how this issue of installing fear and the perversion with which they do it ends,ā she added. āThis sadism of ā¦ inflicting pain and speculating with your misfortune and so on ā¦ is something that characterizes Javier Mileiās government.ā
Diaz recalled a list of those dismissed from the agency began to circulate from the union in the afternoon. A colleague passed it on to her, āand well, unfortunately I was also on that list.ā
āAt that moment the whole weekend went by with anguish, crying, and talking with other colleagues from other places, not only trans, but everyone, everyone and everyone,ā she said. āOn Monday when we went to try to enter, we could not enter with the biometric, which is the thumb we had to use every morning to enter.ā
Despite the difficult moment through which she is going, the trans activist stressed to the Blade that she will continue protesting and will even sue the government because her dismissal is illegal and āviolates the constitution itself.ā
The LGBTQ community and its allies have mobilized and organized demonstrations, highlighting the importance of defending the rights won and fighting against discrimination and exclusion. Diaz emphasized the fight is not only for the people affected today, but also for future generations, saying the historical memory of the struggles for inclusion and social justice must be kept alive.
āThe Argentine government thus faces a key challenge in human and labor rights, where public pressure and social mobilization can play a determining role in protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people,ā Diaz said.Ā
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![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2023/11/Esteban-Alonso-Enrique-Guzman-Rioseco.jpg)
Esteban Rioseco is a Chilean digital communicator, LGBT rights activist and politician. He was spokesperson and executive president of the Homosexual Integration and Liberation Movement (Movilh). He is currently a Latin American correspondent for the Washington Blade.
On Oct. 22, 2015, together with Vicente Medel, he celebrated the first gay civil union in Chile in the province of ConcepciĆ³n.
South America
Daniel Zamudio killer’s parole request denied by Commission
Zamudioās mother, Jacqueline Vera, said after the commission rejected LĆ³pezās request, āwe as a family are calmerā
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2024/04/Comision-de-Libertad-Condicional-de-Chile.jpg)
By Esteban Rioseco | SANTIAGO, Chile āĀ Chileās Parole Commission on Tuesday rejected a request to allow one of the four men convicted of murdering Daniel Zamudio in 2012 to serve the remainder of his sentence outside of prison.
RaĆŗl LĆ³pez Fuentes earlier this month asked the commission to release him on parole. Zamudioās family and members of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBTQ rights group, had gone to court to block the request.
Among the arguments put forward that influenced the commissionās decision is what Movilh categorized as his āhigh risk of recidivism, linked to the adherence of an antisocial behavior with a tendency to minimize his acts transgressing social norms.āĀ
The commission pointed out that LĆ³pez has psychopathic traits because he is aware of the damage he did to Zamudio and his family.
āIn addition, he maintains a high risk of violence, not being advisable to grant the benefit,ā the report said.
Zamudio was a young Chilean man who became a symbol of the fight against homophobic violence in his country and around the world after LĆ³pez and three other young men with alleged ties to a neo-Nazi group beat him for several hours in Santiagoās San Borja Park on March 2, 2012. Zamudio succumbed to his injuries a few weeks later.
The attack sparked widespread outage in Chile and prompted a debate over homophobia in the country that highlighted the absence of an anti-discrimination law. Lawmakers in the months after Zamudioās murder passed a law that bears Zamudioās name.
LĆ³pez in 2013 received a 15-year prison sentence after he was convicted of killing Zamudio.Ā Patricio Ahumada received a life sentence, while Alejandro Angulo Tapia is serving 15 years in prison. FabĆan Mora received a 7-year prison sentence.
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2024/04/Jacqueline_Vera_insert_courtesy_Jacqueline_Vera.jpg)
Zamudioās mother, Jacqueline Vera, exclusively told the Washington Blade after the commission rejected LĆ³pezās request that āwe as a family are calmer.ā
āEven with my husband we were in a lot of pain at the beginning. It was like a blow of very strong emotions, so we tried to stay calm because we still had to solve the problem,ā Vera said. āWe had four days to solve it.ā
LĆ³pez will have to serve the remaining three years of his sentence before his release.
āI will continue working to improve the Zamudio Law and so that this murderer does not leave prison because he is a danger to society, he does not represent repentance and people like this cannot be free,ā she said. āFor the same reason, we have to work so that hate crimes have life imprisonment and that is what we will concentrate on.āĀ
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![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2023/11/Esteban-Alonso-Enrique-Guzman-Rioseco.jpg)
Esteban Rioseco is a Chilean digital communicator, LGBT rights activist and politician. He was spokesperson and executive president of the Homosexual Integration and Liberation Movement (Movilh). He is currently a Latin American correspondent for the Washington Blade.
On Oct. 22, 2015, together with Vicente Medel, he celebrated the first gay civil union in Chile in the province of ConcepciĆ³n.
South America
Convicted killer in Daniel Zamudio murder in Chile seeks parole
Zamudioās death in March 2012 sparked outrage across Chile & prompted lawmakers to pass a hate crimes & anti-discrimination bill
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2024/04/Jacqueline_Vera_insert_courtesy_Jacqueline_Vera.jpg)
By Esteban Rioseco | SANTIAGO, Chile āĀ One of the four men convicted of murdering a young gay man in the Chilean capital in 2012 is seeking parole.
RaĆŗl LĆ³pez Fuentes in 2013 received a 15-year prison sentence after he was convicted of killing Daniel Zamudio.
Zamudio was a young Chilean man who became a symbol of the fight against homophobic violence in his country and around the world after LĆ³pez and three other young men with alleged ties to a neo-Nazi group beat him for several hours in Santiagoās San Borja Park on March 2, 2012. Zamudio succumbed to his injuries a few weeks later.
The attack sparked widespread outage in Chile and prompted a debate over homophobia in the country that highlighted the absence of an anti-discrimination law. Lawmakers in the months after Zamudioās murder passed a law that bears Zamudioās name.
Patricio Ahumada received a life sentence, while LĆ³pez and Alejandro Angulo Tapia are serving 15 years in prison. FabĆan Mora Mora received a 7-year prison sentence.
LĆ³pez has asked the Seventh Santiago Guarantee Court to serve the last three years of his sentence on parole. Zamudioās family and Jaime Silva, their lawyer who works with the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, oppose the request.
Movilh represented Zamudioās family after his murder.
Zamudioās mother, Jacqueline Vera, during an exclusive interview with the Washington Blade said LĆ³pezās petition āprovoked all the anguish, all the commotion of his time.ā
āIt was very cruel because in fact two days before we were at Danielās grave, where it was 12 years since his death and the beating,ā said Vera. āHe really does not deserve it.ā
āWe have gone through very difficult moments,ā she added.
The mother, who later created a foundation to eradicate discrimination in Chile, was emphatic in indicating that she and her family ādo not accept the release of this guy because he is a danger to society and a danger to ourselves.ā
āAt the last hearing where they were sentenced, they told us that we are going to remember them when they get out,ā said Vera. āThey threatened us with death. There is a video circulating on social networks where they were in front of me and they laughed and made fun of me. They told me that I remembered that I had three more children.ā
Regarding the possibility that the Chilean justice system will allow LĆ³pez to serve the remaining three years of his sentence on parole, Vera said āwith the benefits here in Chile, which is like a revolving door where murderers come and go, it can happen.ā
āIn any case, I donāt pretend, I donāt accept and I donāt want (LĆ³pez) to get out, I donāt want (LĆ³pez) to get out there,ā she said. āWe are fighting for him not to get out there because I donāt want him to get out there. And for me it is not like that, they have to serve the sentence as it stands.ā
LGBTQ Chileans have secured additional rights since the Zamudio Law took effect. These include marriage equality and protections for transgender people. Advocacy groups, however, maintain lawmakers should improve the Zamudio Law.
āWe are advocating for it to be a firmer law, with more strength and more condemnation,ā said Vera.
When asked by the Washington Blade about what she would like to see improved, she indicated āthe law should be for all these criminals with life imprisonment.ā
Related:
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2013/03/Chile_vigil_insert_courtesy_Fundacion_Daniel_Zamudio.jpg)
Link: Trial of gay Chileanās alleged killers begins
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![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2023/11/Esteban-Alonso-Enrique-Guzman-Rioseco.jpg)
Esteban Rioseco is a Chilean digital communicator, LGBT rights activist and politician. He was spokesperson and executive president of the Homosexual Integration and Liberation Movement (Movilh). He is currently a Latin American correspondent for the Washington Blade.
On Oct. 22, 2015, together with Vicente Medel, he celebrated the first gay civil union in Chile in the province of ConcepciĆ³n.
South America
Argentine president bans state institutions from using inclusive language
Activists condemn Javier Milei’s anti-LGBTQ policies
![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2024/03/Casa_Rosada_in_Buenos_Aires_Argentina_insert_by_meunierd_via_Bigstock.jpg)
By Esteban Rioseco | BUENOS AIRES, Argentina ā In a move that has generated concern and criticism throughout the country, Argentine President Javier Milei has announced government institutions can no longer use inclusive language and gender-specific references in their public policies.
This decision comes on top of other controversial measures, such as the closure of the Women, Gender and Diversity Ministry, and an announcement to shutter the country’s National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism.
Former Diversity Undersecretary Alba Rueda, a Transgender woman who was the country’s special envoy for LGBTQ+ issues under former President Alberto FernĆ”ndez’s government, and gay Congressman Esteban PaulĆ³n, in exclusive interviews with the Washington Blade discussed the impact of Milei’s announcement and the impact it will have on Argentine society in terms of human rights and protections for queer people.
“The State had been using the gender perspective and inclusive language to make visible the presence of women in key roles and to recognize nonbinary identities,” Rueda said. “This measure not only erases those advances, but also excludes people who are already recognized by the State in their nonbinary gender identities.”
Rueda noted Congress more than a decade ago “passed the gender identity law, which states in its first article that the State will respect the gender identity of all persons. After changes were made in the structure of the State to be able to generate identity documents, a series of court rulings that recognize nonbinary people in their nonbinary identity arose in 2016, and this (and) that remained unresolved during the Macrista government without recognizing the identity of nonbinary people.”
She pointed out FernĆ”ndez’s government in 2021 issued Decree 746, which recognized “people with nonbinary identities, gender fluid and those who avoid naming their gender before the State.”
“The State already recognizes this citizenship and here comes that the prohibition of inclusive language excludes in the way of naming people who are already recognized by the State and that effectively the recognition of their gender identity is the condition of not being binary,” said Rueda. “So, the decree is in force, the law is in force, there are nonbinary people with their documents, but who today are not being named in all state documents.”
PaulĆ³n said the prohibition of inclusive language is a gesture of violence towards LGBTQ+ communities.
“Inclusive language has given entity and identity to an important part of the Argentine population,” he said. “This measure represents an act of harassment and violence towards those who identify with inclusive language, including the queer and LGBTQ+ collective.”
“Language is a social and cultural construction, and in Argentina today inclusive language represents and has given entity and identity to an important segment of the population and to a series of social collectives,” added PaulĆ³n. “Therefore, something that is not created by decree can hardly be eliminated by decree.”
The congressman told the Blade that Milei’s government announcement was “something that was clearly going to happen.”
“I don’t see the government campaigning in inclusive language or celebrating diversity,” said PaulĆ³n.
Milei’s decision has generated intense debate in Argentina, with critics arguing these measures represent a step backwards in the protection of human rights and an attack on diversity and inclusion. Milei’s supporters, on the other hand, defend these measures as part of an effort to promote conservative policies and reinforce national identity.
“It is very serious because it limits the exercise of citizenship and affects the nonbinary population, women and the trans population that is not recognized within the gender binarism,” said Rueda.
She noted Milei during his presidential campaign raised these issues, and has decided to implement policies that harm women and LGBTQ+ people.
“This is the gravity that is lived today in Argentina, that the Argentine head of state puts in confrontation and reduction of rights to women and LGBTIQ+ people,” Rueda added.
This ban on inclusive language and gender-specific policies has been announced against the context of increased political and social polarization in Argentina. With inflation at alarming levels and an economy in crisis, Milei’s government has sought to consolidate its base by adopting controversial measures that have generated division and unrest in Argentine society.
“That is the institutional and democratic gravity today in Argentina, that the head of state attacks and creates internal enemies and that position is accompanied by the media, amplifying a negative message about our communities,” Rueda said. “Of course that translates into social networks, but it also translates into the attacks that we LGBTIQ+ people experience in the public sphere.”
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![](https://www.losangelesblade.com/content/files/2023/11/Esteban-Alonso-Enrique-Guzman-Rioseco.jpg)
Esteban RiosecoĀ is aĀ Chilean digital communicator,Ā LGBT rightsĀ activist andĀ politician.Ā He was spokesperson and executive president of theĀ Homosexual Integration and Liberation MovementĀ (Movilh).Ā He is currently a Latin American correspondent for theĀ Washington Blade.
On Oct. 22, 2015, together with Vicente Medel, he celebrated the first gayĀ civil unionĀ in Chile in theĀ province of ConcepciĆ³n.
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