Puerto Vallarta, is it really an inclusive port?

Sergio Armando Sánchez

Says the slogan of the municipal government, "Puerto Vallarta, is an Inclusive Port", so is it really true?

Perhaps in terms of rights and benefits, it is in terms of the lgbt population, due to the fact that in the Port we have a regulation to eliminate and prevent discrimination, same-sex couples can contract a civil marriage, reassignment of gender and name of trans people, children of homoparental couples can be registered; we are almost at the same level as Mexico City, which is said to be the city of rights.

The items mentioned before are being carried out in our city, thanks to the resolutions of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, and the political good will of our Municipal President, Arturo Davalos Peña, because our unblemished deputies of the state congress do not encourage us to address these issues, waiting for the Supreme Court to do their job, despite the fact that we, the citizens, in fact pay them very well.

And why do I say that the political goodwill of our Municipal President? Knowing that 34% of the tourism that visits our city is lgbt, that is why it is a good entry of money into our city, so in these times this is necessary to reactivate the economy, and it is welcomed.

We have tolerance in the Olas Altas area or Romantic zone, but the lgbt population of Puerto Vallarta, we live in all the neighborhoods of the municipality as well as in the municipal delegations and agencies, where tolerance on the part of the public security elements is less. And because this is solved by giving the elements of public security another awareness workshop.

Civil society is changing, there is more openness but there is still a lot to do to end homophobia and that is called Education, but for us to be respected, we must start with ourselves and end internalized homophobia, which is the one that hurts the most because it comes from equals, and only then can we demand respect from society when we begin to respect each other and end insults amongst us.

Freedom of expression constitutes one of the pillars of democratic society, however discriminatory language and hate speech do not find constitutional protection. Today we see a lot of homophobia in comments on social networks, let's not get hooked into it, let's not fall into the fighting game, let's not denigrate ourselves.

Therefore, it is up to all of us that our Port is truly an Inclusive Port.