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ABSTRACT
During the so-called Pink Tide (1998–2018), in which a surge of left-wing governments assumed power in Latin America, the region significantly expanded guarantees of equality and non-discrimination. In that period, six Latin American countries took steps to decriminalise abortion, eight recognised equal marriage, and twelve recognised the right to gender identity and a name change procedure for trans people. Nevertheless, in Venezuela, where the Pink Tide started, the authorities resisted all efforts to advance abortion decriminalisation or promote human rights related to sexual orientation and gender identity, even though Venezuela’s leaders have associated themselves with the principles and values of social justice. A comparative analysis between the performance of Venezuela and other Latin American countries, and the findings of several interviews with Venezuelan human rights defenders, show a lack of chavismo’s political will, rooted in populism and militarism, to support the participation processes that allow legislative advocacy and judicial activism to advance human rights related to abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender identity. Although Venezuelan authorities proposed alternatives to private property and social assistance programmes, they perpetuated heteropatriarchy by ignoring critical components of the agendas of sexual, reproductive, and gender identity rights defenders, prioritising electoral calculations and relations with religious movements.
Acknowledgements
This research is the fruit of my Master’s in Human Rights joint degree with the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs and the College of Liberal Arts studies. I am thankful to my supervisor, Professor Barbara Frey, Director of the Human Rights Program, who carefully guided me through the process of writing the thesis and editing this paper. Additionally, I am grateful to Professor Amanda Lyons, Executive Director of the Human Rights Center at Law School, for her advice and support. Their comments and edits helped me sharpen my arguments. More importantly, they helped me overcome obstacles and encouraged my efforts.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
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6 Friedman, Seeking Rights from the Left.
7 Blofield and Ewig, ‘The Left Turn and Abortion Politics in Latin America’, 481.
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52 Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional, 06040-2015-PA/TC Tribunal Constitucional, 2016.
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55 Gender Identity, and Equality and Non-Discrimination of Same-Sex Couples, 57–63.
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69 Ibid.
70 Human Rights Watch, International Human Rights Law and Abortion in Latin America, 4.
71 Htun, Sex and the State, 143.
72 Ibid., 142.
73 Human Rights Watch, International Human Rights Law and Abortion in Latin America, 1–2.
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76 Irrazábal, ‘La religión en las decisiones sobre aborto no punible en la Argentina’.
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84 Malta and others, Sexual and Gender Minorities Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean, 10.
85 Blofield and Ewig, ‘The Left Turn and Abortion Politics in Latin America’, 487.
86 Ibid., 482.
87 Ibid., 502.
88 Omar Hurtado Rayugsen, El chavismo, una historia of Chavismo genealogía de una pasión política, eds. Alba Carosio, Indhira Libertad Rodríguez, and Leonardo Bracamonte (Buenos Aires and Caracas: CLACSO and Fundación Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos Rómulo Gallegos, 2017), 69.
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93 Ibid.
94 Bray, ‘El Estado Somos Todos, El Pueblo Soy Yo?’
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96 Bray, ‘El Estado Somos Todos, El Pueblo Soy Yo?’, 3.
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100 Constitución de la República de Venezuela, § 74 Congreso de la República, 1961.
101 Torrealba, ‘Temas centrales en el debate sobre el aborto en Venezuela y argumentos teóricos para su despenalización’, 171–3.
102 Ibid., 169.
103 Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, § 77 Asamblea Nacional Constituyente, 1999.
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107 Cannon, Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution, 62.
108 Bray, ‘El Estado Somos Todos, El Pueblo Soy Yo?’3.
109 Human Rights Council, Situation of Human Rights and Technical Assistance in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Geneva: United Nations, 2021), 4.
110 Bray, ‘El Estado Somos Todos, El Pueblo Soy Yo?’ 3.
111 Blofield and Ewig, ‘The Left Turn and Abortion Politics in Latin America’, 497.
112 Cannon, Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution, 61–5.
113 Ibid.
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116 Torrealba, ‘Temas centrales en el debate sobre el aborto en Venezuela y argumentos teóricos para su despenalización’, 172.
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118 Sonja C. Grover, The Torture of Children During Armed Conflicts (Berlin: Springer, 2014), 23.
119 Sentencia 190-08, Exp. 03-2630 Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, 2008.
120 Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Geneva: United Nations, 2021), 4–5.
121 Cannon, Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution, 55.
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123 Cannon, Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution, 56.
124 Código orgánico de justicia militar, § 6 El Congreso de la República de Venezuela, 1998.
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128 Domínguez Guillén, ‘Algunas sentencias que declaran el cambio de sexo’, 99.
129 Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 4.
130 Ley Orgánica de Registro Civil, G.O. 39264 Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela, 2009, 1674.
131 DIVERLEX Diversidad e Igualdad, Informe sobre la República Bolivariana de Venezuela Examen Periódico Universal (Caracas: DIVERLEX, 2011), 4.
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141 The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, Trans Legal Mapping Report, 176.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Victor Molina
Victor Molina is a Venezuelan human rights defender with over 14 years of experience working for Amnesty International in Latin America. He has a bachelor’s degree in Social Communication, advanced law studies in Constitutional Rights and Human Rights, and a master’s joint degree with the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs and the College of Liberal Arts.