The beginning of the 21^st century has been characterized by a growing wave of intolerance as demonstrated by the Vatican, George Bush’s administration and radical Islamic groups. Put another way, there is a growing militancy in the West among members of the Catholic Church hierarchy and their parishioners, who have become willing to hit the streets in order to defend their point of view.  They have done so repeatedly and, in some instances, have even resorted to violence in order to scare the citizenry.  Nowadays being Catholic does not infer that one is a pacifist nor peace-loving, rather it stands for being part of a radical fight against abortion and same sex unions. All of this is taking place in the name of life, echoing Franco’s “Long live death” (“Que viva la muerte”).  Equality and dignity, matters that once concerned Saint Augustine in his reflections as well as others such as Saint Thomas, have lost validity in the face of the erudite obscurantism practiced by the contemporary church currently presided over by Ratzinger (former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) and previously by Wojzila, the radical right-wing Polish priest, who was anti-communist and very intolerant.  Although under Ratzinger, the Vatican is distancing itself from neo-conservatives insofar as it is defending evolution and not reverting to creationism.

What does it mean that the Vatican has decided to return to the streets in defence of its ideas? Firstly, while many countries are currently debating whether or not the state is secular, the church is intervening in state decisions and other political activities.  In Peru, for instance, concerning the decision over the law of equal opportunities debated in the Peruvian congress in March 2007, the cardinal requested an invitation in order to present his opinion to the respective commission. As a result, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was retracted from the text of the law.  Despite numerous attempts since the mid 80s to have discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation included in Peruvian law, no law in the country concerning anti-discrimination includes this.  It is the only form of discrimination which has not yet been outlawed in Peru, courtesy of the nation’s conservatism and the Church’s disastrous political role there.

Despite all of this, there is resistance…

In Spain, a Jesuit priest, previously unsuspected of intolerance as a result of his philosophical background, led Catholic marches against same sex marriage in 2005. These marches, with their Falangist flavour, are arousing phobia-based violence and hate crimes, from the point of view that death is preferable over opposition to God’s will.  Fortunately in Spain, the idea of a secular state remains strong and pressure from the church has been generally resisted.  So the law passed, although following this, mayors from the Popular Party refused to implement it.

In Chile, in 2004, a divorce law was finally debated, -after being prohibited as a result of church intervention- as well as the anti-sodomy law.  When debate concerning the law was opened, the Church publicly intervened in opposition. However, it lost out to those in favour of reform.

In Mexico in March 2007, the Federal District and five states held preliminary discussions concerning a civil-union law. This law allows for unions between two people wherein both have inheritance rights.  However, it does not ensure equality under Federal Law.  Nevertheless, the church and its followers militantly opposed the proposal.  The law was approved and implemented in mid-April at the same time as the debate over women’s right to decide over their own body began.  This latter debate was automatically interpreted as an abortion law and was attacked through costly campaigns in the streets and in the mass media.  As a result, a controversial law was passed, that applies in Mexico City. Now both laws will have to be debated in National Congress in order to become enacted as federal law. The battle will be tough.

What cannot be disputed, despite this growing intolerance and blatant political activity of the Catholic Church within Latin America, is that concerning these issues a liberation movement is also growing. Beyond political discourse, this movement is gaining space day by day as young people adopt increasingly liberal attitudes in their daily lives that are becoming ever more normal.

This does not mean that homophobia no longer exists in these countries, nor does it mean that youth are uniformly taking on more liberal attitudes.  We are not experiencing another 1968.  Rather these are gradual changes taking place within a wider social framework, which is nonetheless being restrained by pressures from the Vatican, through the Catholic Church within each country.

Adding to the problems in this area, one has to consider the effects of the neo-conservative US administration, which has restricted several civil rights achieved by the TLGB[1] community since Stonewall. As well, one has to note the recent dismissal of Lord Browne, President of British Petroleum in London, for keeping hidden a relationship with his boyfriend.  This recalls the story of Ted Heath who had to resign as British Prime Minister in 1974 after being found in his sailboat during a storm in the company of an attractive young man.  So-called liberal England also has well established political norms that rule out certain things.  While on the other hand, the Mayors of Paris and Berlin live with their boyfriends or, in other words, they have been PACS-ified.[2] Business news reports say that British Petroleum’s President was fired because he lied in court about his relationship. Others would say that if he had been honest from the start, he would not have received this promotion in the first place. Not even in liberal England. The regressive trend is not only evident in Catholic countries and in the US, but rather worldwide.

The legal struggle

The struggle ahead is clear.  In this context, natural trends towards freedom need to be strengthened and legal changes should be pursueed in every country where the secular left has a majority in government.  Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Nicaragua, Cuba and Argentina are some of the countries where national legal reforms should be relatively easy, if the groups concerned get organized. Paradoxically, movements in this regard are stronger where conservative parties are in power, such as in Colombia and Mexico. In Colombia, the debate concerning marital law is in progress and the same is about to happen in Mexico. In Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay it is not even on the agenda. The community is still overwhelmed by the set back and does not seem to have the motivation to reject the incredibly strong religious intervention despite liberal social attitudes.

Perhaps it is time to take action, like during the “Act Up” movement in the US in the 80s, to get all of the conservative public figures who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual to come out of the closet.  It would constitute a demand on behalf of all of us who are trying to change the world for one based upon equality and who feel undermined by our own brothers and sisters who, in the name of internal homophobia, hold us back as they hide behind conservative political parties and the Catholic Church.

Brining these people out of the closet would not be to defame them, as heterosexuals do, but to point out the evidence.  It is not about victimizing anyone, but it means bringing society face-to-face with the hypocrisy within its most conservative sectors, from the presidents of central banks to the senators of Social Christian parties, who are impeding rather than helping the cause.  "God pardons the sin but not the scandal."  The scandal is to speak out, to present oneself.  If this is the definition, then a scandal is essential in order to open society and to liberate people from the pressures of discrimination. There is no TLGB person without a public presence.  That is the closet.  The real scandal is the lack of authenticity and normality, of the shame people feel, and the lack of dignity.

Another world is possible, one where the norm is indifference towards people’s preferences for how they come together sexually and sentimentally.  I’ll conclude by paraphrasing an old saying recalled by a young correspondent of mine, “Hasta la Victoria Siempre” ("Until Victory Prevails”).

- Oscar Ugarteche is a Peruvian economist and the President of ALAI.  He works at the Institute of Economic Investigations at UNAM in Mexico, and is part of the Latin American Network on Debt, Development and Rights (Latindadd).

- Translated by ALAI from the article originally published in Spanish in: América Latina en Movimiento, ALAI, No. 420, "Sexualidades disidentes", May 2007.