Current Version
| Region | Mexico |
| Issue | Homosexual activity |
| Status | Legal |
| Start Date | Feb 15, 1872 |
| End Date | (none) |
| Description | Mexico’s first Penal Code (published in 1871) which entered into force in 1872, made no reference to the criminalisation of sodomy or any other consensual same-sex act between adults. Nevertheless, LGBTQ people could be prosecuted under the vague language of article 787 (Third Book; Title 6 'Violations against family order, public decency, or traditional customs'; chapter II 'Offences against public morals or good manners'), which never mentioned any sexual orientation or gender identity. The penalty included arrest and a fine if the alleged 'indecent act' was committed either in a public place (with or without witnesses) or in a private place. The first known reference of the application of this article towards LGBTQ people dates from November 1901 when the scandal of the 'baile de los cuarenta y uno' (the 'Ball of the Forty-One') occurred. Police illegally raid a private home in Mexico City where 41 men (some of them dressed in women's clothing) from the upper classes of the Mexican society were attending am event. The identity of the suspects was never disclosed, but according to some sources, there are some press articles at the time that state some of them could be conscripted into the army and sent to Yucatán to public works. This was as the Caste War against the Mayan Indigenous rebels was finalising. There are seven names listed in the records of the Supreme Court who filed a writ of protection against their conscription to the army because homosexuality was not illegal in Mexico at the time. Hence, the charge was simply replaced (crime against decency), but the punishment didn't change. This Penal Code was replaced in 1929. |
| Sources | https://database.ilga.org/api/downloader/download/1/MX%20-%20LEG%20-%20Penal%20Code%20(1871)%20-%20OR(es).PDF http://cdigital.dgb.uanl.mx/la/1020013150/1020013150.PDF (page 289, in Spanish) https://letraslibres.com/revista/los-41-y-la-gran-redada/ (in Spanish) https://www.jornada.com.mx/2001/11/08/ls-monsivais.html (in Spanish) |
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Revision History (8)
edited by Doomdorm64. Homosexuality Legal in Mexico
| Old Value | New Value (Current) | |
|---|---|---|
| End Date | Dec 15, 1929 | (none) |
| Sources | https://database.ilga.org/api/downloader/download/1/MX%20-%20LEG%20-%20Penal%20Code%20(1871)%20-%20OR(es).PDF http://cdigital.dgb.uanl.mx/la/1020013150/1020013150.PDF (page 289, in Spanish) https://letraslibres.com/revista/los-41-y-la-gran-redada/ (in Spanish) https://www.jornada.com.mx/2001/11/08/ls-monsivais.html (in Spanish) | https://database.ilga.org/api/downloader/download/1/MX%20-%20LEG%20-%20Penal%20Code%20(1871)%20-%20OR(es).PDF http://cdigital.dgb.uanl.mx/la/1020013150/1020013150.PDF (page 289, in Spanish) https://letraslibres.com/revista/los-41-y-la-gran-redada/ (in Spanish) https://www.jornada.com.mx/2001/11/08/ls-monsivais.html (in Spanish) |
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edited by Alejandro_Ramirez. More information about the subtle criminalisation LGBTQ people suffered until 1999, even if homosexuality was fully descriminalised in 1871.
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| End Date | (none) | Dec 15, 1929 |
| Description | Mexico’s Penal Code (1871) which entered into force in 1872, made no reference to consensual same-sex acts between adults. Hereby, legalizing homosexual sex between two consenting people of the same sex. | Mexico’s first Penal Code (published in 1871) which entered into force in 1872, made no reference to the criminalisation of sodomy or any other consensual same-sex act between adults. Nevertheless, LGBTQ people could be prosecuted under the vague language of article 787 (Third Book; Title 6 'Violations against family order, public decency, or traditional customs'; chapter II 'Offences against public morals or good manners'), which never mentioned any sexual orientation or gender identity. The penalty included arrest and a fine if the alleged 'indecent act' was committed either in a public place (with or without witnesses) or in a private place. The first known reference of the application of this article towards LGBTQ people dates from November 1901 when the scandal of the 'baile de los cuarenta y uno' (the 'Ball of the Forty-One') occurred. Police illegally raid a private home in Mexico City where 41 men (some of them dressed in women's clothing) from the upper classes of the Mexican society were attending am event. The identity of the suspects was never disclosed, but according to some sources, there are some press articles at the time that state some of them could be conscripted into the army and sent to Yucatán to public works. This was as the Caste War against the Mayan Indigenous rebels was finalising. There are seven names listed in the records of the Supreme Court who filed a writ of protection against their conscription to the army because homosexuality was not illegal in Mexico at the time. Hence, the charge was simply replaced (crime against decency), but the punishment didn't change. This Penal Code was replaced in 1929. |
Show Difference | ||
| Sources | https://database.ilga.org/api/downloader/download/1/MX%20-%20LEG%20-%20Penal%20Code%20(1871)%20-%20OR(es).PDF | https://database.ilga.org/api/downloader/download/1/MX%20-%20LEG%20-%20Penal%20Code%20(1871)%20-%20OR(es).PDF http://cdigital.dgb.uanl.mx/la/1020013150/1020013150.PDF (page 289, in Spanish) https://letraslibres.com/revista/los-41-y-la-gran-redada/ (in Spanish) https://www.jornada.com.mx/2001/11/08/ls-monsivais.html (in Spanish) |
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edited by Unknownmiles. adding more words to make it sound better
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Mexico’s Penal Code (1871) which entered into force in 1872, made no reference to consensual same-sex acts between adults. Hereby legalize homosexual sex. | Mexico’s Penal Code (1871) which entered into force in 1872, made no reference to consensual same-sex acts between adults. Hereby, legalizing homosexual sex between two consenting people of the same sex. |
Show Difference | ||
edited by Unknownmiles. correcting the date, description, and link
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Start Date | 2001 | Feb 15, 1872 |
| Description | Article 1 of the Constitution of Mexico was amended to prohibit discrimination based on, among other factors, sexual orientation. | Mexico’s Penal Code (1871) which entered into force in 1872, made no reference to consensual same-sex acts between adults. Hereby legalize homosexual sex. |
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| Sources | The Political Constitution of the Mexican United States, First Title, Chapter I, Article 1, p. 2 http://www.juridicas.unam.mx/infjur/leg/constmex/pdf/consting.pdf | https://database.ilga.org/api/downloader/download/1/MX%20-%20LEG%20-%20Penal%20Code%20(1871)%20-%20OR(es).PDF |
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Reports (2)
- Status is not correct "These Constitutional amendments didn't 'legalised' homosexuality in Mexico. Consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults were legal from 1871 when the first Federal Penal Code was enacted. The goal of these Constitutional amendments was to reiterate the general discrimination ban that has been in place since 1917 (but for the first the language of this article mentioned sexual orientation), but they were passed in 2011.
In 2003, Mexican Congress passed a Federal anti-discrimination law that included sexual orientation as a protected category, established a new agency to enforce the antidiscrimination law, and developed a national anti-homophobia campaign
Please see these sources:
https://database.ilga.org/mexico-lgbti
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/latamcaribbean/2018/04/25/religion-the-state-and-the-states-explain-why-mexico-has-stronger-lgbt-rights-than-the-us/
https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/a-history-of-criminalisation/"
- Date is incorrect "Some entries for the "legality of homosexual activity" count only the date when sodomy was decriminalised, which isn't quite the same thing as prohibiting homophobia. The date should be 1871 Source: Len Evans (october 2002). "Chronology of Mexican gay history""
edited by johnfallot
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Sources | The Political Constitution of the Mexican United States, First Title, Chapter I, Article 1 http://www.juridicas.unam.mx/infjur/leg/constmex/pdf/consting.pdf | The Political Constitution of the Mexican United States, First Title, Chapter I, Article 1, p. 2 http://www.juridicas.unam.mx/infjur/leg/constmex/pdf/consting.pdf |
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edited by johnfallot
| Old Value (Original) | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Sources | http://www.juridicas.unam.mx/infjur/leg/constmex/pdf/consting.pdf | The Political Constitution of the Mexican United States, First Title, Chapter I, Article 1 http://www.juridicas.unam.mx/infjur/leg/constmex/pdf/consting.pdf |
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created by johnfallot
| Original entry | |
|---|---|
| Status | Legal |
| Start Date | 2001 |
| End Date | 2020 |
| Description | Article 1 of the Constitution of Mexico was amended to prohibit discrimination based on, among other factors, sexual orientation. |
| Sources | http://www.juridicas.unam.mx/infjur/leg/constmex/pdf/consting.pdf |