LGBTIQ+ Community Denounces “Discriminatory” Shelter Regulation in Mexico City
Mexico City, June 20, 2026 – Organizations managing shelters for the LGBTIQ+ community in Mexico City have strongly warned against the discriminatory nature of an initiative presented by the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM). The proposed law seeks to regulate “private” shelters dedicated to this sector, sparking significant concern among activists.
The PVEM introduced a bill to create the Law of Private Shelters for People of Sexual Diversity in Mexico City. According to the party, the objective is to protect the physical and psychological integrity of this population. The initiative aims to establish a legal framework to govern the operation of these spaces, which have emerged from community initiatives in response to an urgent need, often due to a lack of official alternatives.
Lack of Consultation and Mischaracterization as “Private”
However, shelters such as Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias AC, led by trans activist Kenya Cuevas, have denounced the initiative as discriminatory. They argue that categorizing them as “private” and failing to involve them in the drafting of the law is a grave oversight.
“We agree with regulation, we agree with transparency, and we agree with improvement. But there is something very serious. This law was built without listening to those of us who sustain these spaces every day,” explained Kenya Cuevas in a video posted on social media.
Deputy Claudia Neli Morales Cervantes, the proponent of the law in the Mexico City Congress, stated that the lack of clear guidelines has left shelters vulnerable, both for those who manage them and those who inhabit them. Morales Cervantes affirmed that the regulatory vacuum must be filled to ensure “safe and dignified operation,” as well as to establish standards of safety, dignity, and non-discrimination. She highlighted that despite advances in LGBTIQ+ rights in Mexico City, serious challenges persist, such as family rejection, employment discrimination, and hate crimes, which disproportionately affect trans women.
According to the initiative, the future law would define obligations for shelter staff, establish supervision and sanction mechanisms, and set minimum operating standards. The deputy considered the work of those who have improvised these shelters “essential, but it has also operated without clear guidelines. That is why the PVEM presents this initiative, because this vacuum must be filled and legislated,” she noted. The document has been referred to the Commission for Inclusion, Social Welfare, and Enforceability of Social Rights for analysis.
Refuges as Social, Not Private, Initiatives
Kenya Cuevas, director and founder of Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias, questioned the legitimacy of a regulation drafted without consulting the individuals and collectives who maintain these spaces daily. A primary criticism is the designation of these spaces as “private,” which organizations contend is inaccurate. They did not emerge as business ventures or fleeting trends, but as a response to state omission. “Let it be clear, these shelters are not born out of fashion, not out of business, they are born because the State has historically failed the LGBTTTIQ+ population,” Cuevas emphasized.
Luisa Martínez, operational coordinator of Casa Hogar Paola Buenrostro, similarly believes the initiative’s approach is flawed from its inception by labeling these spaces as “private shelters,” when they are, in reality, community human rights centers. The shared concern is that the “private” label could obscure their social function and treat them as businesses, despite their existence being a direct response to the absence of effective public policies. Martínez also reiterated that “the law was made without consultation, without listening to the organizations, and without listening to the users. And that is very serious.”
She also questioned the absence of budgetary commitments in the proposal: “The law wants to supervise and regulate us, but it does not propose funding. It does not create support for users. It does not create health, housing, and employment programs. It does not create a budget.” Martínez stressed that guaranteeing rights is a state obligation, not a burden for civil society.
Risk of Discrimination and Persecution
The collectives’ concern extends beyond budgetary omissions and lack of consultation. The initiative could lead to unequal treatment of LGBT+ shelters compared to other types of shelters. “And why only with LGBT shelters and not with religious ones, with annexes, or others? Why? And this can become discrimination and persecution,” a video posted on social media denounced. “The problem is not us, it is the abandonment of the State,” Cuevas concluded.
Demands of the Organizations
The collectives’ demand is clear: any regulation must stem from the active participation of those who manage these spaces and the users themselves. The demand for funding, inclusion of health, housing, and employment programs, and respect for community work are minimum conditions for a law to be legitimate and effective.
In her message, Kenya Cuevas also highlighted the conditions faced by those who seek refuge: “Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias exists because trans women continue to die in the streets, because there is no housing, no health, no work, and no justice.” The activist emphasized that while the city boasts advances in rights, these legal victories have not prevented many from being expelled from their homes or from continuing to face violence, stigmatization, and institutional abandonment.
The main demand is that the voices of those operating these spaces be heard and considered before defining any regulatory framework. Organizations assert that the State must assume its historical responsibility and not transfer the burden to those who, out of solidarity and urgency, have improvised shelters for those who have lost everything.
Source: infobae.com
