Mexican lesbians, trans women rally for rights in first ‘Marcha Lencha’

Mexico City, June 19 (EFE).- Mexican gays and trans women Saturday sought an end to discrimination against the sexual minorities and violence against the LGBT community in the first Marcha Lencha, a widely used synonym for lesbian in the country.

Hundreds of people marched in downtown Mexico City from the Glorieta de Insurgentes to La Cañita, an iconic LGBTQ bar, to demand an end to hate crimes and full recognition of diverse families, sex education, healthcare without discrimination.

“We are lesbian women, what is not named does not exist, and we are here, we exist because we resist,” Miztli Leal, one of the organizers, told EFE.

The march comes at a time when same-sex marriages have been legally recognized in more than 20 of the country’s 32 states while more than a dozen have passed gender identity laws for trans people.

Mexico faces a crisis of violence against women, with ten killed daily, according to UN Women.

In addition, more than six hate crimes against LGBTQ people take place each month, of which more than half are against trans women.

For this reason, women like Maya Lemus came to the demonstration to demand education on protection and care, particularly in sex.

“I support the ‘lenchitudes’, I am part of them, I have suffered discrimination for being romantically involved with women, so I think it is important to raise my voice,” she told EFE.

The activists also sought “dignified treatment” for children and adolescents and an end to so-called “conversion therapies,” which the UN describes as torture and calls to be banned.

The demonstration comes in the LGBT Pride Month, during which some of the largest marches take place in Latin America in Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina.

The organizers convened the march of “lenchitudes” to bring lesbians, the queer, gender-fluid and non-binary people, trans women, and even trans men into the spotlight.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected visibility for the LGBTQ community in Mexico, which has recorded the fourth-highest number of Covid-19 deaths – more than 230,000 – and almost 2.5 million cases.

“The lesbian community has much less visibility, so it is important that we have these spaces,” a demonstrator, Ana, told EFE. EFE

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