Groups representing the interest of these communities have branded the move as a betrayal of several electoral promises made by AMLO. | Photo: Reuters Lawmakers, activists, and citizens fear PES will use the positions granted to them to hamper efforts to advance women’s and LGBT+ rights.
Incoming Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has handed the right to appoint the head of legislative chairs for the Culture and Health Commissions to the conservative evangelical Social Encounter Party (PES), which formed part of his winning coalition in July, sparking outrage among socially progressive groups and sectors in the country.
Lawmakers, activists, and citizens fear PES, which garnered little support while in the electoral coalition with Lopez Obrador’s National Renewal Movement (Morena), will use the positions granted to them to hamper efforts in the House of Representatives to advance women’s rights and LGBT+ issues.
Groups representing the interest of these communities have branded the move as a betrayal of several electoral promises made by AMLO and members of Morena, and have called for a reversal of the decision.
In a collective statement issued by the Mexican LGBTTTI+ Coalition, more than 100 human rights organizations said PES’s ‘anti-rights and anti-democratic’ ideology shouldn’t have any influence over legislation, which is “key for the recognition of women, trans and intersex people’s right to make decisions about their own bodies.”
PES has in the past opposed bills to advance abortion rights and gender equality in Mexico, and the coalition said its ideology “goes against those of a […]
This story is part of our ‘News from Around the Web’ publication, continue reading the story here: Mexico: Activists, Artists Outraged as AMLO Gifts Health, Culture Commissions to Evangelical Party
