Mexico: Court demands pro-family leader apologize for calling trans congressman a man

The Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation (TEPJF) demanded that Rodrigo Iván Cortés, president of the National Front for the Family (FNF), apologize publicly for calling Salma Luévano, a “trans” congressman from the ruling Morena party, a “man.” . Cortés, who received the notification just after a prayer vigil organized by lay people, interprets this event as a response from the government: “The regime could not bear our prayer.”

The day of prayer, held on Thursday, May 23, brought together thousands of Mexican lay people in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Subsequently, a press conference was held organized by the Laicos en la Vida Pública platform, a group to which Cortés belongs. During this event, according to the pro-family leader, they denounced “the terrible national situation and called to vote.”

“Today I received a notification of judicial proceedings against me. It is clear that the regime did not like our prayer,” express on his Facebook page on May 27, and then encouraged: “let this not discourage us, but rather prepare us and encourage us more to action.”

This judicial summons is related to his criticism of Salma Luévano, who appeared in the Congress of the Union on September 21, 2022 wearing clothing similar to that of a Catholic bishop to promote a reform to the Law on Religious Associations and Public Worship.

This reform sought to sanction churches that, according to Luévano, spread “hate speech.”

On that occasion, Cortés pointed out that Luévano “demands respect, but it is exactly what he does not give, he asks for what he does not give, with a tremendous lack of respect.”

On February 2, 2023, the Specialized Chamber of the TEPJF ruled against Cortés and the FNF, considering that “they committed political violence against women based on gender (VPMG), due to various publications on social networks and the internet against of the federal representative, Salma Luévano and trans women”.

The ruling against Cortés was ratified by the Superior Chamber of the TEPJF in August of that year. The sanction includes the payment of a fine and a public apology to Luévano.

In statements to ACI Prensa on May 30 of this year, Rodrigo Iván Cortés indicated that at that time “the fine had to be paid and an extract of the sentence published.” However, he added, “they are now demanding a public apology and, for the timingit is clear that they wanted them to be done just before the election.”

Mexico is preparing for elections considered the largest in its history, with more than 20,000 public officials voting. For Cortés, it is striking “that the Electoral Court, having literally thousands of cases to resolve before next Sunday’s elections, is filing an injunction against me.”