Same-sex marriage in Quintana Roo

Part of the LGBTQ rights series
Marriage

Recognized

Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. ^ a b Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  2. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in Tokelau or the associated states of the Cook Islands and Niue.
  3. ^ Same-sex marriage is also legal in the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey, and the British Overseas Territories of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, the British Antarctic Territory, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, the Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Same-sex marriage is not performed in six British Overseas Territories: Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
  4. ^ a b Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations of the US. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. ^ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights in Israel. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
  6. ^ a b c d The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
  7. ^ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
  8. ^ Guardianship agreements confer some limited legal benefits in China, including decisions about medical and personal care.
  9. ^ Hong Kong provides inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  10. ^ Indian courts have recognized guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  11. ^ In addition to non-binding local partnership certificates, Japanese common-marriage rights are applied nationwide.
  12. ^ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse provide residency rights in Namibia.
  13. ^ Several Philippine cities issue or are considering "Right To Care" cards that allow same-sex partners to make medical decisions in case of emergency.
  14. ^ Romania provides hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
LGBTQ portal

Same-sex marriage is legal in Quintana Roo.[1] The first two same-sex marriages occurred in Kantunilkín on 28 November 2011 after it was discovered that the Quintana Roo Civil Code did not specify sex or gender requirements for marriage. However, marriages were suspended in January 2012 upon review by the state's Secretary General of Government.[2] The two marriages were annulled by Governor Roberto Borge Angulo in April 2012, but these annulments were reversed by the Secretary General of Government on 3 May. The Secretary's decision allows for future same-sex marriages to be performed in Quintana Roo.[3] Quintana Roo was the first Mexican state, and the second jurisdiction in Mexico after Mexico City, to legalize same-sex marriage.

On 28 September 2021, the Congress of Quintana Roo passed legislation 15–0 recognising same-sex concubinage providing similar rights and obligations as marriage. The law took effect on 23 October 2021.

Developments in 2011–2012

The Civil Code of Quintana Roo does not define gender requirements for marriage,[4] specifying only "people interested in getting married".[a] A same-sex couple, María Novelo Infante and Areli Castro Garcí, applied for a marriage license in Cancún and Chetumal after discovering this legal quirk, but officials in both cities rejected their applications, arguing that a heterosexual marriage was implied. The couple then applied in Lázaro Cárdenas Municipality, where authorities accepted the application. Quintana Roo's first two same-sex marriages were held in Kantunilkín on 28 November 2011.[6] Cancún and other resort areas in Quintana Roo planned to hold a same-sex group wedding in January 2012.[7] However, newspaper Reforma reported that upcoming ceremonies were suspended following an order by the Quintana Roo Secretary General of Government, Luis González Flores, to review the legality of the ceremonies.[8][9] In April 2012, both marriages were annulled by Governor Roberto Borge Angulo.[8] On 3 May 2012, the Secretary General of Government (Secretaría de Gobierno) reversed the annulments.[10] In effect, the Secretary General interpreted the Civil Code as containing no provisions forbidding same-sex marriage, and used its executive administrative authority to reverse the earlier annulments, directing civil registry offices to accept applications from same-sex couples. Both marriages became legal the following month because there was no estoppel filed in due time.[11]

The decision made Quintana Roo the first Mexican state, and the second jurisdiction in Mexico after Mexico City, to legalize same-sex marriage. Subsequent legislation and rulings from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation have expanded same-sex marriage to the entire country. The Supreme Court has ruled that bans on same-sex marriage violate Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico (Spanish: Constitución Política; Yucatec Maya: Almejen Noj A’almajt’aanil). Article 1 states:[12]

Any form of discrimination, based on ethnic or national origin, gender, age, disabilities, social status, medical conditions, religion, opinions, sexual orientation, marital status, or any other form, which violates the human dignity or seeks to annul or diminish the rights and freedoms of the people, is prohibited.[b]

Subsequent developments

In 2013, a lesbian couple in Tulum were denied a marriage license and forced to obtain an amparo granting them the right to marry. The court ruled the refusal unconstitutional and ordered the state to prevent further discrimination against same-sex couples, requiring all civil registry offices in Quintana Roo to process marriage applications from same-sex couples.[14] In September 2014, Bacalar Municipality approved changes in its marriage forms to equalize procedures for all marriages.[15] At the same time, officials in Playa del Carmen said that same-sex couples could begin marrying from the last week of September 2014.[16][17] Othón P. Blanco Municipality announced that their first same-sex marriage would occur on 26 November 2014,[18] and José María Morelos Municipality announced in 2017 that it had equalized procedures for all marriages, with marriage services also available in Yucatec Maya.[19]

In November 2014, media outlets reported that a bill to officially codify same-sex marriage in the Civil Code would be introduced to the Congress of Quintana Roo and voted on in the current legislative session, thereby replacing the loophole used by couples.[20] The measure stalled and was not voted on. Another bill also stalled in 2017.[21] On 28 September 2021, Congress passed legislation—proposed by deputies Ana Pamplona Ramírez of the Party of the Democratic Revolution and Hernán Villatoro Barrios of the Labor Party—by a 15–0 vote recognising same-sex concubinage providing similar rights, benefits and obligations as marriage.[22] The law was signed by Governor Carlos Joaquín González, published in the official state journal on 22 October and took effect the following day.[23] Article 825bis of the Civil Code now defines concubinage as:[24] Concubinage is the union of two people with reciprocal rights and obligations, provided that, without any legal impediments to marry, they have lived together in a constant and permanent manner for a minimum period of two years immediately preceding the establishment of the rights and obligations referred to in this Chapter.[c]

28 September 2021 vote in the Congress[25]
Party Voted for Voted against Abstained Absent (Did not vote)
  National Regeneration Movement
6
  • Luis Chávez Zepeda
  • Linda Cobos Castro
  • Edgar Gasca Arceo
  • Julio Montenegro Aguilar
  • Paula Pech Vázquez
  • María Torres Gómez
 – –
3
  • Erika Castillo Acosta
  • Euterpe Gutiérrez Valasis
  • Maria Trejo Quijano
  Ecologist Green Party of Mexico
1
  • Tyara Schleske de Ariño
 –
2
  • Erick Miranda García
  • Judith Rodríguez Villanueva
1
  • José Ruíz de Chávez
  National Action Party
2
  • Reyna Durán Ovando
  • Aurora Pool Cauich
 –
1
  • Kira Iris San
1
  • Eduardo Martínez Arcila
  Party of the Democratic Revolution
2
  • Ana Pamplona Ramírez
  • Iris Mora Vallejo
 – –
1
  • Pedro Pérez Díaz
  Labor Party
2
  • Roberto Erales Jiménez
  • Hernán Villatoro Barrios
 – – –
  Authentic Social Movement
1
  • José Guillén López
 – – –
  Citizens' Movement – – –
1
  • Chanito Toledo Medina
  Institutional Revolutionary Party
1
  • Carlos Hernández Blanco
 – – –
Total 15 0 3 7
60.0% 0.0% 12.0% 28.0%

In January 2018, a married same-sex couple in Puerto Morelos were granted the right to register their child. In April 2018, with the help of the State Human Rights Commission, a same-sex couple in Cancún were also allowed to register their newborn son.[26] According to 2021 statistics from the civil registry, about 30 to 40 lesbian couples register their children in the state every year.[27]

Native Mexicans

While many Indigenous cultures historically practiced polygamy to some extent, there are no records of same-sex marriages being performed in these cultures in the way they are commonly defined in Western legal systems. However, many Indigenous communities recognize identities and relationships that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum. The Yucatec Maya recognized certain forms of institutionalised same-sex relations. Some shamans engaged in homosexual acts with their patients, and priests engaged in ritualized homosexual acts with their gods.[28] Anthropologist Walter Lee Williams wrote with respect to the Yucatec Maya: "After my arrival in Yucatán, I soon learned that the society provides a de facto acceptance of same-sex relations for males. It did not take long to establish contacts, and my informants suggested that a large majority of the male population is at certain times sexually active with other males. This usually occurs in the years between thirteen and thirty, when sexual desire is strongest, but it also involves men older than that. Marriage to a woman does not seem to have much effect on the occurrence and amount of homosexual behavior."[29] Carvings, rituals and stories were explicit about sexual diversity.[30]

The first Mayan same-sex marriage was performed in Kantunilkín in October 2022 between Lidia Holi Poot and Lizbet García Domínguez. The couple held a civil marriage ceremony as well as a traditional Mayan ceremony officiated by two priests.[31]

Marriage statistics

As of mid-December 2014, officials announced that 14 same-sex marriages had been performed in Quintana Roo.[32] The National Institute of Statistics and Geography reported that 163 same-sex marriages were performed in 2018, of which 96 (59%) were between two women and 67 (41%) between two men.[33] According to data from the civil registry, most same-sex marriages in 2018 took place in the northern parts of the state, particularly in the municipalities of Benito Juárez, Solidaridad, Cozumel, Puerto Morelos, Isla Mujeres and Tulum, but also Bacalar in the south.[34] From January to August 2018, three same-sex marriages were performed in Othón P. Blanco Municipality, while only one occurred in José María Morelos Municipality.[19]

Data from the civil registry showed that 277 and 210 same-sex marriages were performed in Quintana Roo in 2019 and 2020, respectively, with most being between two men.[27]

Public opinion

A 2017 opinion poll conducted by the Strategic Communication Office (Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica) found that 56% of Quintana Roo residents supported same-sex marriage, while 37.5% were opposed.[35] According to a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 38% of the Quintana Roo public opposed same-sex marriage.[36]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Article 680 of the Civil Code states:[5] Las personas que pretendan contraer matrimonio presentarán un escrito a la persona Oficial del Registro Civil, ante la cual celebrarán el contrato respectivo, que exprese: [...] III. Qué es su voluntad unirse en matrimonio., translating to "Persons intending to marry shall submit a written document to the Civil Registry Officer, before whom they shall enter into the respective contract, stating: [...] III. That it is their wish to enter into marriage."
  2. ^ In some official and indigenous languages of Quintana Roo:
    • Spanish: Queda prohibida toda discriminación motivada por origen étnico o nacional, el género, la edad, las discapacidades, la condición social, las condiciones de salud, la religión, las opiniones, las preferencias sexuales, el estado civil o cualquier otra que atente contra la dignidad humana y tenga por objeto anular o menoscabar los derechos y libertades de las personas.
    • Yucatec Maya: Ku we’et’el tuláakal péech’ óolal chéen tu yóok’olal u ch’i’ibalil wáaj u nojlu’umil u taalbal máak, u wíiniknáalil, u ja’abil, u yaayaj óolalil, bix yanil u kuxtal yéetel u toj óolalil, u yoksajk’uujil, ba’ax yaan tu tuukul, máax uts tu yich, bix anil tu táan kaaj, wáaj tu yóok’olal uláak’ ba’al beetik k’aas ti’ u tsikbe’enil máak, yéetel u tuukulil u xu’ulsik wáaj u péets’ óoltik u páajtalil yéetel u jáalk’abilo’ob máak.[13]
  3. ^ Spanish: El concubinato es la unión de dos personas con derechos y obligaciones recíprocos, siempre que sin impedimentos legales para contraer matrimonio, han vivido en común en forma constante y permanente por un período mínimo de dos años que precedan inmediatamente a la generación de derechos y obligaciones a los que alude este Capítulo.

References

  1. ^ Vázquez, Jesús (18 July 2012). "Bodas gay generan interés en el sector turismo de Quintana Roo". El Economista (in Spanish). El Economista S.A. de C.V. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Same-sex marriages put on hold in Cancun resort areas". San Diego Gay & Lesbian News. 12 January 2012. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  3. ^ Varillas, Adriana (3 May 2012). "Revocan anulación de bodas gay en QRoo". El Universal (in Spanish). El Universal Compañia Periodística Nacional S.A. de C.V. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  4. ^ EFE (29 December 2011). "Cancun Plans to Pass Gay Marriage Bill to Attract Tourists". Fox News Latino. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  5. ^ "Código Civil para el Estado de Quintana Roo" (PDF). Congress of Quintana Roo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  6. ^ Brisa Muñoz (30 November 2011). "Sin hacer una reforma legal, Quintana Roo realiza sus primeras bodas gay" (in Spanish). CNN México. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  7. ^ Brisa Muñoz (2 December 2011). "Dos matrimonios homosexuales se casaron en un municipio conservador" (in Spanish). CNN México. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  8. ^ a b Santana, Rosa (17 April 2012). "Anula gobernador de Quintana Roo dos bodas gay; lo acusan de homofóbico". Proceso (in Spanish). Comunicación e Información, S.A. de C.V. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  9. ^ "Gay Marriage in Cancun, Mexico Suspended". On Top Magazine. 12 January 2012. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  10. ^ Sánchez, Manuel (4 May 2012). "Legalizan los matrimonios gay" (in Spanish). Diario Respuesta. Archived from the original on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  11. ^ Varillas, Adriana (5 June 2012). "Matrimonio gay celebra su unión en QRoo". El Universal (in Spanish). El Universal Compañia Periodística Nacional S.A. de C.V. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  12. ^ "Mexico's Constitution of 1917 with Amendments through 2015" (PDF). www.constituteproject.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  13. ^ "U Almejen Noj A'almajt'aanil u Múuch' Péetlu'umilo'ob México" (PDF). INALI (in Yucatec Maya). Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  14. ^ "In English - First gay marriage is celebrated in Tulum". El Universal. 12 August 2014. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Bacalar modifica Reglamento del Registro Civil para bodas gay | UN1ÓN | Cancún". Unioncancun.mx. 30 September 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  16. ^ Grupo SIPSE (3 October 2014). "Dan luz verde a bodas gay en Playa del Carmen". Sipse.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  17. ^ Grupo SIPSE (28 December 2014). "Se registra el primer matrimonio gay en Solidaridad". Sipse.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  18. ^ Nombre (requerido) (23 November 2014). "Alistan primera boda gay en Chetumal". Noticaribe. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  19. ^ a b "Registro Civil ofrece bodas gay y actas digitalizadas en maya". Quinta Fuerza (in Spanish). 3 August 2018. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Ingresan al Congreso uniones gay". La Verdad Noticias. 4 November 2014. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  21. ^ (in Spanish) Quintana Roo garantiza derechos de comunidad LGBTI Archived 21 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Flores, Ana (30 September 2021). "El 29 de septiembre de 2021, el Congreso de Quintana Roo aprobó el concubinato para personas del mismo sexo". Homosensual (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  23. ^ "Poder ejecutivo del estado. promulgación del decreto número 145 por el que se reforman el párrafo primero del artículo 825 bis, el párrafo primero del artículo 825 quáter y el párrafo primero así como la fracción i del artículo 829, todos del código civil para el estado de quintana roo". VLex (in Spanish). 22 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Decreto número: 145" (PDF). Congress of Quintana Roo (in Spanish). 28 September 2025.
  25. ^ "Informe de votación 28 de septiembre de 2021" (PDF). Congress of Quintana Roo (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  26. ^ (in Spanish) Autorizan registrar al hijo de matrimonio gay Archived 24 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ a b "Parejas de mujeres lideran uniones del mismo sexo en QRoo". La Jornada Maya (in Spanish). 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  28. ^ Sigal, Peter Herman (2000). From moon goddesses to virgins: the colonization of Yucatecan Maya sexual desire. University of Texas Press. p. 213. ISBN 0-292-77753-1.
  29. ^ "Chichen Itza". The Closet Professor. 28 May 2014.
  30. ^ "Cómo era la vida íntima de los mayas". infobae (in Spanish). 22 June 2022.
  31. ^ "En Quintana Roo, celebran la primera boda maya entre mujeres". Diario de Yucatán (in Spanish). 7 December 2022.
  32. ^ Grupo SIPSE (18 December 2014). "Quintana Roo se abre paso en realización de bodas rosas". Sipse.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  33. ^ "Matrimonios, Entidad y municipio de registro, Sexo, Sexo". INEGI (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  34. ^ (in Spanish) Parejas del mismo sexo prefieren casarse frente al mar Archived 4 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  35. ^ (in Spanish) Encuesta nacional 2017 Archived 19 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Gabinete de Comunicación Estratégica
  36. ^ "¿Quién está en contra del matrimonio gay?". El Sol de México (in Spanish). 15 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
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