18 members of a Mexican political party participating in the 2021 election cycle have registered as transgender women in order to circumvent the constitutional gender quota.
An amendment to article 41 of the Federal Constitution of Mexico passed in 2014 establishes the principle of “gender parity” and requires parties to nominate an equal number of male and female candidates.
In order to comply with this rule prior to the June 6 gubernatorial, legislative and local elections, the “Force for Mexico” party had 18 of its members in Tlaxcala state file for candidacy as trans women, according to The Catholic News Agency.
Fuerza Por México presentó 18 hombres que se reconocieron como mujeres trans, esto para cumplir con el requisito de paridad; el partido no quiso revelar los nombres de los candidatos. #EnPunto con @DeniseMaerker pic.twitter.com/GHq3xMj2Bp
— Noticieros Televisa (@NTelevisa_com) May 25, 2021
President of “Force for Mexico” Luis Vargas has dismissed the accusations of nominating fake trans candidates to let men take up the quota dedicated for women. (RELATED: Mexico Shuts Down 17 Men Who Tried To Run For Office As Women)
“The trans issue is three-pronged: transgender, transsexual, and transvestite. And the issue for the (trans) community is very broad. I can’t get into people’s privacy and tell them ‘you yes and you no’,” Vargas said, when asked for a comment Wednesday by a Televisa news program.
This is not the first time Mexican parties attempt to exploit the loophole. Officials from Ouxaca state disqualified 15 male candidates masquerading as transgenders for the 2018 local elections.
“Gender ideology, being a matter of subjective confusion and chaos, also reaches a crisis point when monetary, political or other interests can demonstrate its lies and confusion,” Marcial Padilla, director of ConParticipación, told The Catholic News Agency.
“This will be one of many cases that we are going to see in Mexico and in other countries,” Padilla said.