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Public Opinion

According to recent survey data, there appears to be strong opposition to LGBTQ+ rights in Michoacán, based on limited public opinion data in Michoacán.

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History

Homosexual activity in Michoacán

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Homosexual activity in Michoacán is legal.

Current status
Since Oct 5, 1929
Legal under federal Mexico law
This previous Penal Code from 1872 was replaced in 1929. The new legal order aimed to modify the legal architecture of the Porfirio Díaz dictatorship, which was based on penal repression, to align it with the context of the constitutional guarantees and social justice proclaimed by the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

Once again, any notion of homosexuality (both male and female) was formally excluded from the document. The potential criminalization allowed by the previous code due to the vagueness of the sanctions related to 'offenses against public morality and good customs' is now technically limited solely to a prohibition of pornography. Thus, Article 536 536 (Second Book; Title 8 'Crimes against Public Morality'; Chapter I 'Offenses against Public Morality or Good Customs') mentions imprisonment and fines for those who reproduce or manufacture obscene writings, images, or objects, as well as for those who display or commercialize such obscene expressions in public.

Again, in 1931, the penal code was substituted by the one that still governs at the federal level today. However, in 1966, Article 201 (Third Book; Title 8 'Crimes against Public Morality and Good Customs'; Chapter II 'Corruption of Minors') was reformed, and for the first time, a reference to homosexuality appeared. It established imprisonment for anyone who induces or incites a minor under 18 years old to engage in 'homosexual practices.' The penalty was doubled if the act was repeated and resulted in the minor 'acquiring habits of homosexual practices.'

Finally, those last provisions that indirectly incited the criminalization of homosexuality were eliminated in the 1999 reform.
Feb 15, 1872–Oct 4, 1929
Legal under federal Mexico law
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 an 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.
Jan 1, 1600–Feb 14, 1872
Male illegal, female uncertain under federal Mexico law
From the 1600s to the short Second French intervention and the subsequent restoration of the Republic under President Juárez, sodomy was heavily criminalized in Mexico. The medieval laws issued in the Kingdom of Castile were still valid for all the territories of the Hispanic Monarchy in the Americas. These laws still heavily criminalised acts of sodomy and were still part of the chaotic Mexican legal body even after achieving independence.
In the first half of the 19th century, Mexico experienced political instability and a series of civil wars and revolts. All the efforts to enact a solid, unified legal body for this new country were unsuccessful until the 1870s.
Sources:
Garza, Federico. Quemando mariposas. Sodomía e imperio en Andalucia y México, siglos XVI-XVII. Laertes. Barcelona, 2002. (Spanish)

utpress.utexas.edu/9780292779945/ (English & Book)

database.ilga.org/mexico-lgbti

dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php… (Spanish)

Irwin, Robert McKee, et al., eds. The Famous 41: Sexuality and Social Control in Mexico 1901. New York: Palgrave, 2003. Lumsden, Ian. Homosexuality, Society and the State in Mexico. Toronto: Canadian Gay Archives, 1991. (English)

Timeline of war: www.napoleon.org/en/history…

Translated version: www-jornada-com-mx.translat…

Original version: www.jornada.com.mx/2001/11/…
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Same-sex marriage in Michoacán

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Same-sex marriage in Michoacán is legal.

Current status
Since May 18, 2016
Legal
Approved by the Congress of the State of Michoacán, with 26 votes in favor, no opposition and 7 abstentions on May 18, 2016.
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Sep 30, 2015–May 17, 2016
Civil unions (limited rights)
In 2015, Michoacán provided for civil unions for same-sex couples.
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Until Sep 29, 2015
Unrecognized
Until 2015, there was no legal recognition provided to same-sex couples in Michoacán.
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Censorship of LGBT issues in Michoacán

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Censorship of LGBT issues in Michoacán is no censorship.

Current status
Since Dec 12, 1998
No censorship
In Michoacan, there are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics since the removal of homosexuality from Mexico's federal "corruption of minors" law. There were no state laws that considered homosexuality a "corruption of minors" in Michoacan.
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Jan 14, 1966–Dec 11, 1998
Imprisonment as punishment under federal Mexico law
In 1966, Article 201 of the Federal Penal Code mentioned homosexuality as an "immoral practice" that was discouraged to encourage to minors. Other states would also implement similar laws until the repeal in 1998.
Jan 1, 1600–Jan 13, 1966
State-enforced under federal Mexico law
LGBTIQ+ people faced heavy persecution in Mexico during the Spanish Inquisition.

When Mexico decriminalised homosexuality in 1872, there were still vague references that persecuted LGBTIQ+ people in practice in Article 787 against "violations against family order, public decency or traditional customs". The most notable case of this was in 1901 when 41 crossdressers were raided by the police in a private home.

Right to change legal gender in Michoacán

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Right to change legal gender in Michoacán is legal, no restrictions.

Current status
Since Aug 18, 2017
Legal, no restrictions
In 2017, Michoacán provided for legal gender recognition on the basis of self-identification.
Until Aug 17, 2017
Illegal
Until 2017, there was no legal gender recognition provided in Michoacán.
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Gender-affirming care in Michoacán

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Gender-affirming care in Michoacán is legal.

Current status
Legal under federal Mexico law
There are no government restrictions placed on gender-affirming care and government guidelines for public health institutions endorse medical intervention with transgender youth. However availability proves a problem in many areas.
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Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Michoacán

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Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Michoacán is not legally recognized.

Current status
Not legally recognized
There is no legal gender recognition provided to nonbinary or intersex people in Michoacán.
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LGBT discrimination in Michoacán

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LGBT discrimination in Michoacán is illegal.

Current status
Since Feb 25, 2009
Illegal
In 2009, Michoacan added gender identity as a protected characteristic in its anti-discrimination law.
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LGBT employment discrimination in Michoacán

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LGBT employment discrimination in Michoacán is unknown.

Current status
Unknown

LGBT housing discrimination in Michoacán

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LGBT housing discrimination in Michoacán is unknown.

Current status
Unknown

Same-sex adoption in Michoacán

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Same-sex adoption in Michoacán is legal.

Current status
Since May 18, 2016
Legal
Same-sex adoption is legal in Michoacan since 2016.
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Intersex infant surgery in Michoacán

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Intersex infant surgery in Michoacán is not banned.

Current status
Not banned under federal Mexico law
There is no ban on intersex infant surgery in Mexico, and they are reportedly commonplace.
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Serving openly in military in Michoacán

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Serving openly in military in Michoacán is legal.

Current status
Since 2012
Legal under federal Mexico law
Since 2012, LGBTIQ+ people are permitted to serve openly in the Mexican military.
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Until 2012
Don't Ask, Don't Tell under federal Mexico law
No laws seek to identify or prevent the enrollment of gays in Mexico’s armed services. However, a high prevalence of harassment, encouraged leave, and dishonorable discharge was often issued if one was interpreted as homosexual until 2012.

Blood donations by MSMs in Michoacán

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Blood donations by MSMs in Michoacán is legal.

Current status
Since Dec 25, 2012
Legal under federal Mexico law
NOM 253 removes targeted restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men. Instead, it prohibits donations from individuals with HIV or hepatitis, their partners, and those who participate in "high-risk sexual practices," irrespective of their sexual orientation.
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Jul 18, 1994–Dec 24, 2012
Banned (indefinite deferral) under federal Mexico law
In 1994, Mexico passed a policy on blood donation under NOM 003-SSA2 which explicitly banned gay and bisexual men from donating blood. The ban would be repealed in 2012.
Until Jul 17, 1994
Legal under federal Mexico law
Until 1994, there was no known policy or law restricting or banning blood donations from men who have sex with men in Mexico.

Conversion therapy in Michoacán

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Conversion therapy in Michoacán is banned.

Current status
Since Jun 8, 2024
Banned
Conversion therapy is banned in Michoacán under federal Mexican law.
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Until Jun 7, 2024
Not banned
Until Mexico’s federal ban in 2024, conversion therapy was legal in Michoacán.
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Equal age of consent in Michoacán

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Equal age of consent in Michoacán is equal.

Current status
Since Feb 15, 1872
Equal under federal Mexico law
Illegal with a minor under 12, ambiguous rulings observed 12-18, universally legal 18+.
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