The new law allows gay residents of the country's capital and largest city the right to make medical decisions for their partners and also list partners as beneficiaries of pensions and inheritances in the event of death. The measure was spearheaded by the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), the party which narrowly lost the hotly contested presidential election this past summer.
The mayor is likely to sign the bill into law, against the open opposition of the country's President Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party (PAN). Mexico City is a federal district unto itself and is ruled under its own legislation. The laws of Mexico City apply only to its roughly nine million residents. Alejandro Brito of the activist group Letra S hopes the capital's example will influence the country as a whole.
"This is a historic day," said Alejandro Brito, director of the activist group Letra S: Health, Sexuality and AIDS. "It will reinvigorate our movement. Our law here in Mexico City could cause a chain reaction."
Already the large Mexican state of Coahuila, which shares a border with Texas, is considering a gay union law.
Colin_ORegan
Brooklyn, NY
May 2006
NOV 28, 2006 11:19 AM