Abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender identity during the Pink Tide: Venezuela compared to Latin American trends

Abstract

During the so-called Pink Tide (1998–2018), in which a surge of left-wing governments assumed power in Latin America, the region significantly expanded guarantees of equality and non-discrimination. In that period, six Latin American countries took steps to decriminalise abortion, eight recognised equal marriage, and twelve recognised the right to gender identity and a name change procedure for trans people. Nevertheless, in Venezuela, where the Pink Tide started, the authorities resisted all efforts to advance abortion decriminalisation or promote human rights related to sexual orientation and gender identity, even though Venezuela’s leaders have associated themselves with the principles and values of social justice. A comparative analysis between the performance of Venezuela and other Latin American countries, and the findings of several interviews with Venezuelan human rights defenders, show a lack of chavismo’s political will, rooted in populism and militarism, to support the participation processes that allow legislative advocacy and judicial activism to advance human rights related to abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender identity. Although Venezuelan authorities proposed alternatives to private property and social assistance programmes, they perpetuated heteropatriarchy by ignoring critical components of the agendas of sexual, reproductive, and gender identity rights defenders, prioritising electoral calculations and relations with religious movements.