In 1998,
Ecuador's new constitution introduced protections against discrimination based
on sexual orientation. In 1999, Chile
decriminalized same-sex intercourse. Rio de Janeiro's state legislature banned
sexual-orientation discrimination in public and private establishments in 2000.
In 2002, Buenos Aires
guaranteed all couples, regardless of gender, the right to register civil
unions.
The policy changes just kept coming. In 2003, Mexico passed a
federal antidiscrimination law that included sexual orientation. A year later,
the government of Brazil
initiated "Brasil sem homofobia" (Brazil without homophobia), a
program with nongovernmental organizations to change social attitudes toward sexuality.
In 2006, Mexico City
approved the Societal Cohabitation Law, granting same-sex couples marital
rights identical to those for common-law relationships between a man and a woman.
Uruguay
passed a 2007 law granting access to health benefits, inheritance, parenting,
and pension rights to all couples who have cohabited for at least five years. In
2008, Nicaragua
reformed its penal code to decriminalize same-sex relations. Even Cuba's authoritarian
new president, Raúl Castro, has allowed free sex-change operations for
qualifying citizen
Libba Farrar on 18 Nov 09On October 13, 1981 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights published a report that outlined the political conditions within the republic of Guatemala. Chapter IX of this report focuses on political rights and as such designates five sections that address various aspects of domestic political rights. Within the text the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights devotes one section to the history of politics since the 1940s up until the regime in power during the early 1980s. Along with Guatemala's political history, Chapter IX incorporates political rights as defined under the 1965 Guatemalan Constitution and governmental adherence to such policies as outlined by the Constitution.
