In Mexico, an HIV-Positive Man’s Death Sparks Protests for Reform
Tim Murphy CONTRIBUTING EDITOR June 29, 2021 Activists protest for HIV and LGBTQ+ rights in Chetumal after the alleged murder of a young man living with HIV. Jacobo Chuc Rey Americans who’ve been to places like Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, or Tulum may think of Mexico as a kind of paradise: full of vivid natural beauty, replete with diverse cultures and foodways, cosmopolitan—and LGBTQ-friendly. After all, the country passed national LGBTQ protections and legalized same-sex marriage years ago, and many cities are popular and festive international queer destinations. But the recent alleged murder of a reportedly HIV-positive young gay man in Cancún—a large resort city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea—has caused alarm among HIV and LGBTQ activists. They’ve taken to the streets in Cancún and Mexico City to demand hate crime legislation, more specialized prosecution of LGBTQ-related crimes, and an end to longst...
