In Latin America, gay marriage is legal in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Colombia. It is also permitted in Mexico City and several Mexican states. Chile has a Civil Union Agreement that legally governs the unions of homosexual and heterosexual couples who are not married, and Ecuador gave marital status to de facto unions between two people, regardless of their gender.
In Cuba, nothing similar has been achieved.
In the country that has boasted of having carried out a "revolution," where the State dominates every stage and every level of citizens' education, and exploits its total control of the media as an instrument for it campaigns, and even though the daughter of dictator Raúl Castro champions the cause of gay marriage, it has all come to naught: in Cuba homosexuals are still unable to legally marry.
The editor-in-chief of the magazine Espacio Laical and the president of the World Catholic Association for Communication (SIGNIS) says that gay marriage has not been approved on the Island due to "widespread rejection" of it. Does he base his claim on surveys, or simply on Catholic prejudices on the issue?
The National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), the institution through which Mariela Castro is supposed to represent the rights of the Cuban LGBT community, should respond to this statement with the results of its research.
Regardless of the majority opinion amongst the Cuban population, raising awareness and educating the public about gay marriage is the CENESEX's responsibility. In December the National Assembly of Popular Power is to convene again, and Deputy Mariela Castro should stand up for those rights there.
Because, in light of what has been achieved in other Latin American countries, continuing to point to Cuban society's traditional machismo is a weak excuse by the institution, which she heads up thanks to her family ties.