Campaign launched to repeal Uruguay's Comprehensive Trans Law

National Party deputies Carlos Iafigliola and Álvaro Dastugue launched a campaign today to repeal the Comprehensive Law for Trans People through a referendum, under the slogan "We are all equal."

November 12, 2018

National Party deputies Carlos Iafigliola and Álvaro Dastugue launched a campaign today in the Uruguayan Parliament to repeal the Comprehensive Law for Trans People through a referendum, under the slogan "We are all equal."

Lawmakers are seeking to gather support from 2% of eligible voters (approximately 55,000 signatures) before March 25. If they succeed, the Electoral Court will call for a non-compulsory voting day, during which those interested in promoting the referendum can express their support by casting a ballot. If 25% of eligible voters sign the ballot, the Court will call for a public referendum on the law.

Iafigliola is a pre-candidate for the National Party and is a member of the evangelical church Misión Vida para las Naciones and is the son-in-law of its leader, Pastor Jorge Márquez.

The Comprehensive Trans Law was approved after a marathon session on October 19. Among its provisions, the change of name and sex assigned at birth is no longer a judicial process but an administrative one, handled by the General Directorate of the Civil Registry; it includes trans people in housing access policies; it recognizes the identity and uniqueness of the trans community by including them in censuses, surveys, and reports; it guarantees access to the education system for trans people; and it grants a 1% job quota for trans people in public employment opportunities.

The law also guarantees transgender people born before December 31, 1975, who have been victims of institutional violence or deprived of their liberty due to their gender identity, the right to reparations in cases of psychological, moral, or physical harm. It also covers cases of discriminatory practices by the State that limited their rights.

“Let the law fall”

Iafigliola, a pre-candidate for the National Party, told the newspaper La Diaria that he doesn't know if this campaign will positively influence his candidacy and admitted that it will be "an additional drain." "What interests me is that the law be overturned; whether this will help or not, I can't measure," he said. He added: "No religious organization has come to support me. Everyone I've invited is a political and social leader, although this doesn't mean that there aren't members of any church who might be taking up this issue."

Regarding the attack on a trans woman in Salto last week, Iafigliola said she condemns “all forms of hatred and discrimination,” but disagreed with those who claimed the attack was a response to statements made during the debate on the trans bill. “I don’t know if the things said in Parliament could encourage situations like the one the other day in Salto. I don’t share the simplistic reasoning some have made that this was the responsibility of those who opposed the law, or those who voted in favor; for me, one thing has nothing to do with the other,” she said.

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