A federal Chamber of Deputies committee this week voted down President Enrique Peña Nieto’s initiative to legalize same-sex marriage in Mexico, thus lessening the chances that the progressive constitutional reform will be passed in the current legislative session.
The damage was inflicted by representatives of the Partido Institutional Revolucionari (PRI) and Partido Verde (PVEM), who voted en bloc against the measure, along with the Conservative National Action Party (PAN).
Only legislators from left-wing parties in the Comisión de Puntos Constitucionales (Constitutional Matters Committee) supported the measure.
Despite belonging to the same party as the president, the PRI deputies may have been influenced by the nationwide campaign against same-sex marriage that was backed by the Roman Catholic Church. The PRI leadership believes Peña Nieto’s polemic reform – introduced in May – cost the party votes in June’s midterm elections. Many would prefer the bill to be shelved now, in case it becomes an issue in the lead up to the 2018 presidential election.