Rights, Religion, and Realities: Public Opinion Toward Same-Sex Marriage in Mexico

Abstract

During the past ten years, Mexico has witnessed incredible progress in the fight for rights of its gay and lesbian citizens. In 2009, Mexico City became the first city in Latin America to legally permit same-sex marriage. Several years later, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that marriages performed in the capital must be recognized in all 31 of the country’s states. This is dramatic social change in a nation where nearly 80 percent of the population self identifies as Catholic. So how did a predominantly Catholic country, with a reputation for a dualistic approach to gender become one of the Latin American leaders in same-sex rights? Using data from the Latin American Popular Opinion Project (LAPOP), this paper examines levels of support for same-sex marriage in Mexico, changes in that support between 2010 and 2012, and the factors that explain these shifts.