Mexico City: No pride in Genocide

Reportage • Lizbeth Hernández • July 4, 2024 • Leer en castellano

The 46th annual LGBT+ Pride March took place in Mexico City on Saturday, June 29. As they have for the last eight years, activists who oppose the trivialization and commodification of the march organized a series of counteractions designed to force the issue of transfeminicides, disappearances, and the genocide in Gaza into the discussion.

As the genocide that began in October 2023 drags on, twenty organizations and collectives called for a "No pride in genocide" protest on the same day as the Pride march.

The countermarch was organized by queer and trans collectives as well as Black, feminist, student and pro-Palestinian organizations. They called for a renewal of the radicalism and politicization of Pride, which  has roots in the Stonewall riots that took place in New York City’s Greenwich Village neighbourhood in 1969.

"We refuse to march alongside corporations in a country where the LGBTTTIQAP+ proletariat does not enjoy the same labor rights as the heterosexual population, such as the right to medical coverage for their partners, to maternity or paternity leave, or old age pensions,” read a statement from countermarch organizers. “In addition, these corporations and brands directly finance genocide in Palestine. We cannot be indifferent to the atrocities committed in Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Haiti, Tigray and Yemen. We cannot celebrate while they occur. There is no pride in genocide."

Participants in the countermarch gathered at the Angel of Independence. Activists spraypainted walls and other surfaces and pasted posters denouncing the genocide. At 10 am, they prepared to march. 

"Children in Gaza are not a threat, dissidents in Gaza are not a threat, the people of Gaza are not a threat!" and "It is not war, it is genocide!" These were among the chants heard during the mobilization.

The countermarch, which grew to around 400 to 500 people, walked toward the Israeli embassy. As it advanced, some demonstrators painted graffiti on walls and billboards, others handed out informational flyers to passersby. Authorities did not obstruct the march in any way.

When they got to the embassy around 3 p.m, demonstrators confronted a wall of metal fences and riot police. These types of police mobilizations have occurred at other actions at the Israeli embassy called to support the Palestinian people and to demand a ceasefire. Thus far, Israel's attacks in Gaza have killed more than 40,000 people, including at least 16,000 children. 

Demonstrators held political and cultural activities included music, performance, and the reading of statements by different collectives and organizations. They urged the world not to turn away from the genocide in Gaza and not to let Israel's pinkwashing deceive them.

"Brothers, sisters, and siblings, if you are blind to genocide, to death and enforced disappearance… If you have not felt dehumanization in your own flesh, then, go ahead and march alongside the brands that will remove their colors tomorrow and forget about you for the next eleven months. But if this system’s crimes impact you, if you see what we see and feel what we feel, then join us as we march with dignified rage at the gates of those carrying out genocide. Let us use our voice so that the whole world hears us as we say loud and clear: There is no pride in genocide!" declared a statement that protesters read during the political-cultural activities.

Since last October, organizers have held actions in Mexico City in support of the Palestinian people. In addition to marches and vigils, there have been protests at the National Palace, the U.S. Embassy, and on university campuses. They have called for a boycott of companies that invest in Israel and for the Mexican government to sever ties with the Israeli government.

The rally closed just after 4 p.m. with music and dance. "Free, free, free Palestine," chanted those gathered. A few minutes later, a group of demonstrators scuffled with  police, who threw gas to disperse them. The tension did not last long as the remaining attendees left the area. They did so in the same way they arrived: in groups, chanting slogans, carrying LGBT+ flags, demanding an end to genocide.

In reaction to the countermarch, the Israeli embassy in Mexico issued a statement on July 1 claiming that "LGBTQ+ community members attacked Israel, their only ally in the Middle East." 

The organizers of the Countermarch responded with a position statement that refusing the exploitation of their identities, divergences or oppressions for "the sinister interests of occupation, colonialism and genocide." They reasserted the legitimacy of their protest and denied having incurred in anti-Semitic actions or calls, as alleged by the Israeli embassy, and again demanded that the Mexican government break off relations with Israel.