| Part of the LGBTQ rights series |
Same-sex marriage is legal in Puebla following a ruling from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, [1] [2] issued on 1 August 2017, that the state's same-sex marriage ban violated Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. [3] [4] The ruling was officially published in the Official Journal of the Federation on 16 February 2018. [5]
The Congress of Puebla passed a bill codifying same-sex marriage into state law on 3 November 2020, amending various articles of the Civil Code to reflect the Supreme Court ruling. [6] The law was signed by Governor Miguel Barbosa Huerta, and took effect on 11 November 2020.
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled on 12 June 2015 that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional nationwide. The court's ruling is considered a "jurisprudential thesis" and did not invalidate state laws, meaning that same-sex couples denied the right to marry would still have to seek individual amparos in court. The ruling standardized the procedures for judges and courts throughout Mexico to approve all applications for same-sex marriages and made the approval mandatory. Specifically, the court ruled that bans on same-sex marriage violate Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. Article 1 of the Constitution states:
Any form of discrimination, based on ethnic or national origin, gender, age, disabilities, social status, medical conditions, religion, opinions, sexual orientation, marital status, or any other form, which violates the human dignity or seeks to annul or diminish the rights and freedoms of the people, is prohibited. [a]
An important recognition case was granted via amparo on 29 January 2014. A same-sex couple, married in 2012 in Mexico City, filed an amparo against the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) after it had refused to register one of the partners for spousal benefits. In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that the IMSS was required to recognize the marriage. [9] On 15 October 2014, an amparo for thirteen couples was filed with the support of Equal Marriage Mexico (Matrimonio Igualitario México) and the Citizens Observatory of Sexual and Reproductive Rights (Observatorio Ciudadano de Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos) seeking to have the state's same-sex marriage ban declared unconstitutional. [10] [11] [12] In March 2015, reports surfaced that a judge had ruled against the couples citing the requirement that they "prove their homosexuality". Activists slammed this as a delay tactic and appealed to the Supreme Court. [13] On 5 May 2016, the court ruled that the state's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional and discriminatory, and allowed the plaintiff couples to marry. [14] On 1 June 2016, the Supreme Court issued a similar ruling in a case involving fifteen couples. [15]
In November 2014, a federal court granted Guadalupe Gómez Tetetla and Fabiola Lucero Méndeza an amparo. The couple had filed the amparo earlier that year after their request for a marriage license had been rejected. The state appealed the decision, and an appellate court upheld the ruling on 10 July 2015. Their wedding, which was the first same-sex marriage in the state of Puebla, took place on 1 August 2015. [16] [17] In September 2016, officials in the municipality of San Pedro Cholula announced that any same-sex couple who wishes to marry in the municipality may do so without hindrance, citing nationwide jurisprudence established by the Supreme Court. [18]
On 7 December 2006, a civil union bill, similar to the law submitted in Mexico City, was proposed in Puebla, but it faced strong opposition and criticism from deputies of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party (PAN), which declared that "the traditional family [was] the only social model, and there [could not] be another one." [19] The civil union bill was proposed again on 15 March 2011. [20] After five reviews in the ensuing years, [21] the bill was postponed until a later legislative session on 8 June 2014. [22] On 29 September 2014, the Congress of Puebla announced that there would be no discussion in that legislative term. [23] Activists organized a march on 8 November 2014 urging the Congress to legalize same-sex marriage. [24] Congress rejected a civil union bill in December 2014. [25] The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which supported the measure, announced its intention to re-introduce a similar bill in 2015. [26] On 11 June 2015, a PRD deputy submitted a marriage bill instead, citing national court decisions in favor of same-sex marriage. [27] [28] In June 2016, state officials announced they would postpone a vote on the legislation until after the Supreme Court ruled on the action of unconstitutionality filed in April 2016. [29]
On 27 April 2016, the National Human Rights Commission filed an action of unconstitutionality (acción de inconstitucionalidad; docketed 29/2016) against the state of Puebla, contesting the constitutionality of articles 294, 297 and 300 of the Civil Code. The Congress of Puebla had recently amended state family law, but left the same-sex marriage ban in place. The lawsuit sought to legalize same-sex marriage in Puebla, similarly to what had happened in Jalisco, where the Supreme Court struck down that state's same-sex marriage ban in a unanimous ruling in early 2016. [30] [31] Article 294 defined marriage as the union of "a man and a woman" whose goal was "perpetuating the species", and article 297 similarly defined concubinage as between "a man and a woman". Article 300 required the "man and woman" to be at least 16 years of age. On 1 August 2017, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the three articles violated Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. [1] In late January 2018, despite opposition from Congress, the civil registry announced it would abide by the ruling and start processing marriage applications from same-sex couples. [32] [33] The ruling officially came into effect upon publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación) on 16 February 2018. [5] State officials have also confirmed that the court ruling permits same-sex couples to adopt. [34]
In October 2018, Deputy María García Olmedo from the Institutional Revolutionary Party introduced a bill to Congress to codify same-sex marriage in the Civil Code. [35] On 4 October 2019, a Congress committee voted against decriminalizing abortion, [36] and updating state law to reflect the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage. [b] Shortly following the vote, Deputy García Olmedo filed a legal challenge with the Supreme Court, arguing that Congress' refusal to amend state law to recognize same-sex marriages in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling was unconstitutional. [37] García Olmedo also accused deputies of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), who mostly voted for the measure, of "betrayal", as the party was elected on a platform supporting LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. On 30 October 2020, a Congress committee voted 4–2 with 1 abstention in favor of a same-sex marriage bill introduced by Deputy Vianey García Romero. [38] On 3 November 2020, Congress approved the legislation 31–5. [39] [40] [41] The law was published in the official state journal on 10 November, following Governor Miguel Barbosa Huerta's signature, and took effect the following day. [42] Article 294 of the Civil Code now reads: Marriage is a civil contract by which two persons voluntarily unite in partnership to live a common life, with respect, mutual support, and equality of rights and obligations. [c]
| Party | Voted for | Voted against | Abstained | Absent (Did not vote) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Regeneration Movement | 13
| – | – | – |
| Institutional Revolutionary Party | 5
| – | – | – |
| Labor Party | 4
| – | – | 1
|
| National Action Party | – | 4
| – | 1
|
| Social Encounter Party | 3
| – | – | – |
| Citizens' Movement | – | – | 2
| – |
| Party of the Democratic Revolution | 2
| – | – | – |
| Compromiso por Puebla | – | – | 1
| – |
| Ecologist Green Party of Mexico | 1
| – | – | – |
| New Alliance Party | 1
| – | – | – |
| Independent | 2
| 1
| – | – |
| Total | 31 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 75.6% | 12.2% | 7.3% | 4.9% |
The following table shows the number of same-sex marriages performed in Puebla since 2019 as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography. [44] Figures for 2020 are lower than previous years because of the restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Year | Same-sex | Opposite-sex | Total | % same-sex | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | Total | ||||
| 2019 | 51 | 40 | 91 | 17,058 | 17,149 | 0.53% |
| 2020 | 26 | 20 | 46 | 12,649 | 12,695 | 0.36% |
| 2021 | 66 | 55 | 121 | 16,046 | 16,167 | 0.75% |
| 2022 | 84 | 53 | 137 | 17,095 | 17,232 | 0.80% |
| 2023 | 60 | 43 | 103 | 15,574 | 15,677 | 0.66% |
| 2024 | 53 | 38 | 81 | 16,086 | 16,177 | 0.50% |
121 same-sex marriages were performed in Puebla in 2021; 66 between two women and 55 between two men. Most marriages took place in Puebla de Zaragoza at 81 and San Pedro Cholula at 23. [45]
A 2017 opinion poll conducted by Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica found that 48.5% of Puebla residents supported same-sex marriage, while 48% were opposed. [46] According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 37% of the Puebla public opposed same-sex marriage. [47]