In solidarity with the struggles of the Trans movement in Mexico for the transfeminicide of Paola Buenrostro

The CLACSO Working Group on Sexual Activisms and Citizenships: Interdisciplinary Dialogues expresses its solidarity with the struggle of the Trans movement in Mexico, especially regarding the recent events surrounding the transfeminicide of Paola Buenrostro, which occurred in 2016. Following the recent arrest of the alleged perpetrator, the relevant authorities have erred both in the classification of the crime and in the use of the social name of Kenya Cuevas—who has demanded justice for this act—one of the most important Trans activists of the 21st century in Mexico.

The struggles of trans people are marked by systematic and structural processes of violence, invisibility, inequality, and exclusion. This is evident in Mexico, which ranks second in the region for crimes against sexual and gender minorities, especially trans people. These devastating statistics are a structural symptom of violence normalized by worldviews that dehumanize diversity and difference. Therefore, the fight against these inequalities is not only relevant but urgent in the pursuit of better conditions for sexual and gender minorities in Mexico and the region.

Although activists and collectives have promoted the creation of protocols and awareness-raising processes for public servants, on the one hand, and there is a political will to do the same to guarantee the rule of law for these historically vulnerable social groups, on the other hand, the reality evidenced in recent days regarding the case gives the impression that these institutional efforts function more as a simulation and a lack of interest in the search for justice and the adoption of the protocols themselves.

The demand to reclassify the crime committed against Paola Buenrostro from homicide to femicide embodies a historic struggle for recognition and visibility in everyday life. In this context, it is incomprehensible that the institution responsible for ensuring justice in this case is more concerned with mitigating the media impact of its errors than with establishing direct mechanisms to address the lack of coordination and the failure to adopt a critical perspective on social and gender justice.

This is a crucial event that could set a precedent in Mexico, not only to recognize the violence inflicted on this community, but also to take an important step in guaranteeing both their gender identities and access to justice in the near future, especially in the nation's capital.

For this Working Group, focused on sexual citizenship, it is crucial that the struggle for these changes in the legal arena be carried out to guarantee their effective exercise, as they are key to building better conditions for the full right to live and develop in society. We will continue to monitor its development and hope that the justice system will rectify its course. As the very slogans of the LGBTIQA+ movements in the region attest,

Dignity is not negotiable!

4 September 2026
CLACSO Working Group Sexual activism and citizenship: interdisciplinary dialogues

This text expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Groups and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.