#8M What did the transfeminist marches in Latin America demand?

Regional journalistic coverage of the marches of women, lesbians, bisexuals, transvestites, trans people and non-binary identities.

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Airam Fernández (Santiago/Chile), Juliana Quintana and Jessie Insfran Pérez (Asunción/Paraguay), Esteban Marchand (Lima, Peru), Pilar Salazar (Guatemala City/Guatemala), Paula Rosales (San Salvador, El Salvador), Ana Fornaro, Luciana Caminos, Ariel Gutraich and María Eugenia Ludueña (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

March 8th (#8M) shook the world with the power of feminism unfolding in the streets. At Agencia Presentes, we provided journalistic coverage focusing on the participation of lesbians, bisexuals, transvestites, trans people, and non-binary individuals in the International Women's March and Strike.

The regional coverage included six Latin American countries: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Beyond the differences between legislative frameworks and the situations faced by LGBTQ+ groups in each country, this #8M feminisms demanded an end to violence, and to violence perpetrated against transvestites and trans people due to hatred of gender identity.

San Salvador

In San Salvador, a march began at 8 a.m. toward Congress to demand the passage of dignified and equal laws. Diversity was a prominent feature of the march, and its voices were heard throughout the Central American country.

In 2018 383 women were murdered, 14 of whom were trans. The community marched in force to demand justice for femicides and transfemicides.

"We, the diverse women, are striking for many reasons. One is to demand that the legislative assembly pass the gender identity law and recognize the fundamental rights of the trans population," said Bianka Rodríguez of the organization Comcavis.

 

Guatemala City

In Guatemala City, the #8M march began at 11 a.m. from the Plaza de los DDHH (Human Rights Plaza), in front of the Court of Justice. #AltoGenocidioTrans (Stop Trans Genocide) was the slogan of the trans groups: "Let's remember, our rights are also human rights."

Ilse Janeth Contreras, from the transgender sex workers' collective, denounced that her colleagues in the Trébol area of ​​Zone 11 are in constant danger. She said they are called "the red collective," a name they have adopted as a form of resistance.

The march ended at the headquarters of the Women's Sector, an organization that brings together several groups. In the early hours of March 8th, activists reported that their facilities had been ransacked and documents stolen.

 

 

Lime

About 5,000 women, trans people and lesbians marched along Avenida de la Peruanidad in Lima towards Plaza San Martín to say "We want to live."


This March 8th, people took to the streets to protest the 31 femicides and at least two hate crimes (there are no official figures); a lawsuit that has been ongoing for almost two years against the gender approach in education to remove it from the national curriculum; and the advance of fundamentalisms that deny the humanity of women and LGBTI+ people, also denying everyday violence.

 

Santiago, Chile

The march held in Santiago, Chile, to commemorate International Women's Day was a historic and inclusive demonstration. The feminist tide of green and purple scarves stretched for more than 4 km, and this time, unlike previous occasions, it was a truly diverse demonstration.

By 9:00 p.m., the Carabineros (Chilean police) had recorded an attendance of 190,000 people at this event organized by the 8M Feminist Coordinator.

The presence of LGBTQ+ groups was visually significant. With their respective flags and signs, they marched alongside the multitude of women demanding justice, an end to violence, equality, and living wages.
Lesbians, transvestites, and trans people were divided into at least three different groups, alongside activists from the Lesbofeminist Network, the Lesbian Group Breaking the Silence, the Neutre collective, and the Iguales Foundation. "Without lesbians, trans people, and bisexuals, there is no feminism," some signs read.

The most repeated: those who demanded justice for Nicole Saavedra, the young lesbian murdered in June 2016 in a town near Santiago, a case that to this day remains in total impunity.

Assumption

With the motto “Ore rembiapo ovale” (our work is worth it) and “ore kuña ropyta” (we stop), more than 3,000 domestic workers, peasants, indigenous people, Banadanses, students and LGBTIQ+ women marched in Asunción. 
The march departed from Plaza de la Mujer (formerly Plaza Italia) on Jejuí Street around 7:30 p.m., heading towards Plaza de la Democracia. International Women's Day in Asunción was celebrated with glitter, handmade t-shirts, poetry, dancing, and songs in Guaraní, one of the favorites being "Che reté, che mba'e" (My body is mine). Among the groups that asserted the value of their work, the LGBTQ+ community stood out.
This date was celebrated not only in the capital, but also in several departmental capitals such as Ciudad del Este, Coronel Oviedo, Encarnación, Pilar and, for the first time, in Concepción.
LGBTI women demanded equality and the eradication of the sexist culture entrenched in all work environments.

Buenos Aires

In the City of Buenos Aires, some 300,000 women, lesbians, transvestites, trans, bisexuals and non-binary identities marched from the National Congress to Plaza de Mayo.
Among other demands, they called for the implementation of institutional action protocols for the prevention and intervention in situations of violence, discrimination and/or harassment based on gender or sexual orientation.
Also, the effective implementation of comprehensive, secular, scientific, and respectful sex education that acknowledges sexual and gender diversity in all educational establishments; the enforcement of the Gender Identity Law in educational institutions. No to homo-lesbian-trans-biphobic hate. Never again will we return to biological determinism! And a quota for transvestite/transgender employment in all educational institutions in Argentina.

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