COVID-19 – Mexico

The Mexican government launched the “StayHome” and “National Healthy Distancing Campaign” on Monday, March 23, featuring a superheroine you can follow on social media: “Susana Distancia” (Susana Distance). As of May 9, there were 31,522 cases and 3,160 deaths. To date, the support and incentives announced by the government of President…

April 9, 2020

The Mexican government launched the “StayHome” and “National Healthy Distancing Campaign” on Monday, March 23, featuring a superheroine you can follow on social media: “Susana Distancia” (Susana Distance) . As of May 9, there were 31,522 cases and 3,160 deaths.

So far, the support and incentives announced by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's government will be provided to senior citizens through bank transfers—with operations organized in towns and regions where there are no banks—and to micro-enterprises. But this will not be enough for a population where almost 60% work in the informal sector and lack social security. "It's hard to stay home when you don't have enough to eat," a street worker told Presentes.

This fragile balance between pandemic measures and the looming economic recession leaves Mexico at a crossroads where the most vulnerable populations will be the hardest hit, including the LGBT+ community, which already occupies a precarious position within Mexico's unequal social structure. Vida Alegre, a space for LGBT+ seniors in Mexico City, was one of the first to close its doors. As one of the communities most at risk of exposure to the coronavirus pandemic, this measure is necessary but insufficient without a government alternative for the care and support this population requires, given the double vulnerability of being LGBT+ and senior citizens.

Presentes is in constant dialogue with activists, collectives, and individuals within the LGBT+ community, and several concerns have been raised. The most prominent issues are those faced by transgender sex workers and the elderly. The Center for Support of Trans Identities, AC, has launched a fundraising campaign to help protect those most at risk of infection. Casa de Muñecas Tiresias AC and Casa Hogar Paola Buenrostro have also launched campaigns in response to the health emergency, which has led many transgender women, people living with HIV, and those with degenerative diseases to remain in responsible social isolation. They have also closed and canceled all their meetings, services, and events.

Jessica Marjane, a trans activist with the Trans Youth Network, says: “ We need to recognize that private spaces are the primary sites of violence against women and LGBTQ+ people, and in public spaces, those most affected are people experiencing homelessness, or those living in spaces where people are deprived of their liberty, such as prisons.” Regarding family spaces, there are already several known cases of LGBTQ+ people who have recently come out and been expelled from their homes, leaving them in a situation of extreme vulnerability in the current context. Here you can read the Twitter thread about one of these cases , which adds to the nearly 15 reported in the last week by the organization It Gets Better in Mexico.

LGBT migrants

This is also a grim scenario for migrants, as LGBT+ migrant shelters on the US border have already announced that they cannot guarantee sanitary supplies or basic medical care in the event of a quarantine or a surge in COVID-19 cases. Furthermore, the US border will remain partially closed for 30 days, further delaying the asylum application process.

People living with HIV

People living with HIV are concerned about the potential reduction in healthcare professionals and the closure of medical facilities and services caused by the virus, which could exacerbate the uncertainty surrounding the medication shortages they have been experiencing for months. The Condesa Clinic , a leading healthcare center for people living with HIV, announced that it will temporarily suspend all appointments at the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INER) for viral load and CD4 count tests. The dispensing of medications through pharmacies will not be affected.

All the LGBT+ groups and activists mentioned are calling for people to pay attention to their posts and are asking for solidarity in this adverse context.

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