2024/01/11 by Calla Hummel, V.Ximena Velasco-Guachalla, V. Ximena Velasco-Guachalla · 7 citations
Social Sciences · #Gender Politics and Representation #Identity (music) #Law #Legislation #Political economy #Political science #Politics and Society in Latin America #Sex work and related issues #Sociology
paper · doi:10.5129/001041524x17042290047647
published in Comparative Politics 56(3), 321-343 (City University of New York)
openalex publication_date 2024/01/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Bolivia prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and passed a ground-breaking gender identity law. These laws had little support among voters and passed along with heteronormative measures. Why did activists succeed in proposing and passing legislation that most voters did not support? Why were Bolivia’s advances in LGBTQ+ rights accompanied by heteronormative laws? We argue that parties with deep ties to social movements are more likely to advance legislation that expands LGBTQ+ rights than other parties and that contradictory laws emerge where both organized religion and LGBTQ+ activists are party constituents. We describe how Bolivian trans activists leveraged their access to ruling party legislators, using interviews with activists and officials, and briefly discuss the cases of Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Colombia.