HAVANA TIMES – The historically marginalized LGBTQI+ population in El Salvador now risks further violations of their rights, due to the declarations and actions of President Nayib Bukele. Bukele’s words have been viewed as part of the hate speech commonly used against this community.
His hate slurs also seek to justify the firing of State employees by linking them to “an agenda that is incompatible with the government vision. Although he didn’t specify this vision, he indirectly linked it to the LGBTQI+ movement, according to activists from those organizations.
“While hate has always been tangible in the country, today the hate talk coming from the government worsens the situation,” Rigoberto Perez, a young gay activist, told the IPS news service. Perez, 25, is a native of Zaragoza in the southern Salvadoran department of La Libertad.
His remarks referred to certain statements by the Salvadoran leader which appeared to be an indirect attack on the LGBTQI+ population, although the leader had the discretion to avoid naming them directly.
On June 28, Bukele posted on his social media a justification for firing 300 workers for the Ministry of Culture. According to his words, it was because they promote actions incompatible with the government’s vision. The context of his words linked them to a Drag theater production called “Immoral.”
The 300 dismissed employees represent 27% of the Ministry of Culture’s payroll; another 200 had been fired in March, spokespersons for the union movement stated. The workers will receive severance pay based on the years worked, with a ceiling of US $20,000.
The show “Immoral” was presented on June 15 in San Salvador’s National Theater, which is administered by the Ministry of Culture. A second presentation scheduled for the following day was cancelled by the Ministry authorities, alleging that the content presented “wasn’t appropriate for Salvadoran families.”
The play was a production of the “Inari Queer Project” Collective, and portrayed the violence and rejection from families and government agencies suffered by those in the gay community. It was a drag presentation, where the male performers wore women’s clothes and make-up.
The performance brought angry reactions on the social networks of conservative groups, and among Bukele’s followers, demanding the show be cancelled.
“It’s important that we express ourselves now, during the Pride Parade, because even though the President didn’t mention us directly, people undoubtedly grasped the meaning of his hate speech. That has negative repercussions for us in the LGBTQI+ population,” noted Perez, all the while fending off the rain with a rainbow-colored umbrella.
The activist was participating in the Pride March held in San Salvador on the weekend of June 29, so as to attract more people. The actual International Day of LGBTQI+ Pride is June 28.
Bukele’s message had included the words: “The people chose a path, and that’s the path we’ll take. Bitter-tasting medicine.”
Layoffs with a moralistic smell
The allusion to bitter-tasting medicine came during the June 1st inauguration speech of El Sal
