Uruguay becoming first Latin American country to legalize gay adoption

August 28, 12:04 PMSouth America Policy ExaminerSylvia Longmire

In yet another bold move by Uruguay’s socialist government, lawmakers voted yesterday to allow adoptions by gay and lesbian couples. The measure, which was approved 40-13, still needs to pass through the senate, a move considered a formality since it was already approved there on a first reading.

The senate was due to vote on the measure before September 15, the end of a legislative period that was brought forward ahead of presidential elections in October.

This is the third such legal action taken by the Uruguayan government in the last two years to extend more rights to homosexuals. In December 2007, the Congress legalized civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. In May of this year, Tabare Vazquez, the first leftist president in Uruguayan history, opened access for homosexuals to military schools.

As expected, the Roman Catholic Church is less than excited about these legal actions.

According to Agence France Presse, The archbishop of Montevideo, Nicolas Cotugno, said before the vote that it would be a “serious error to accept the adoption of children by homosexual couples. It’s not about religion, philosophy or sociology. It’s something which is mainly about the respect of human nature itself.”

Uruguay is usually a country whose actions manage to stay out of the headlines, probably because Vazquez isn’t nearly as vocal as his leftist contemporaries in Latin America. One might think that other socialist leaders might share this liberal attitude towards gay rights, but it’s not clear how presidents like Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa, and Bolivia’s Evo Morales feel about gay rights.

The biggest cultural issue standing in the way of any progression in the gay rights movement in Latin America is machismo, and an inherent aversion to homosexuality in the Hispanic culture. However, The Economist reports that homosexuality is accepted more widely than it used to be:

“Latin Americans are surprisingly tolerant of homosexuality—within limits. Though they may face taunts and violence, men in particular can sometimes lead openly, even flamboyantly, gay lives as long as they conform to certain stereotypes (such as working as hairdressers). Those who prefer to be discreet usually benefit from Catholic society’s widespread ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ tolerance of private foibles. It is when they start challenging norms and agitating for legal rights that the trouble typically starts.”

Civil unions have been legalized in some states in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil, but probably no one can say that it’s a widespread movement with broad acceptance. Machismo still dominates in Latin America, which will make any progress in gay rights slower than in other regions.