By Gerardo Torres Zelaya
Tuesday April 24th, 2012
It seems illogical to have a political proposal about something so personal, but the truth is that the backwardness in which the country lives makes profound changes necessary from the personal to the collective to permit the achievement of true changes.
In Honduras people are discriminated against, persecuted and killed because of their sexual preferences. The Party for Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) is the first political institution in the history of the country to take a political position guaranteeing as a citizen’s right the freedom to express their Sexual Diversity.
This is not a simple discourse about inclusion but rather part of the structure itself that supports this new party and that is already explicit in its statutes making it obligatory for all persons who decide to be members of LIBRE to automatically make this struggle their own.
For the First Time Candidacy for Sexual Diversity
The theme of sexual and reproductive rights, respect for individual decisions and no discrimination based on sexual preference and punishment for hate crimes and expressions of homophobia are considered in the structure of the LIBRE Party. Now these premises are considered in the LIBRE Party’s Government Plan and will be taken up by the candidates who take this agenda as their own.
On Sunday, April 22 the Working Group on Diversity (Mesa de la Diversidad) was installed in which persons from the Lesbian, Gay, Transvestite, Transgender, Bisexual and Intersexual (LGTTBI) community will begin the development of what will be the policies on this theme once the LIBRE Party comes to power.
The National Leadership of the Party and the provincial Leadership in Francisco Morazán have decided that the struggle for the rights of Sexual Diversity will have a slot on the candidates‘ slate of the LIBRE Party fraction (current) the Strength of Popular Refoundation (Corriente Fuerza Refundacion Popular-FRP).
The FRP Current has taken up the banner of this struggle inside the Party and to that end has created the Commission on Sexual Diversity which it is hoped will become a permanent space within the structure of the LIBRE Party once the internal elections take place.
The Candidates
The same day as the creation of the Diversity Working Group compañero Erick Martínez Ávila was named as a candidate for Representative to Congress and also compañero Erick Vidal Martínez was nominated as a candidate for Alternate Representative on the same slate.
Both compañeros will assume the role of spokespersons for the policies that have already begun to develop on three issues: Sexual and Reproductive Health, the Rights of Citizens without regard to their sexual preference and Development of legislation to increase the prosecution of and penalties for hate crimes, Homophobic actions and to put an end to impunity for the assassinations of members of the LGTTBI community.
The Diversity Working Group as well as the new candidates have announced actions from the LIBRE Party for this coming May 17th - International Day Against Homophobia- calling for our participation as the membership of the LIBRE Party.
The Working Group is open for more compañeros and compañeras to participate whether or not they are candidates for positions in the elections, from the FRP Current or from other fractions of the LIBRE Party, having the will to confront the backwardness and obscurantism of the violent, discriminatory and absurd class that currently governs us.
Translated by VC, La Voz de los de Abajo, Chicago, US
