Mexico has issued the country’s first birth certificate with a non-binary gender marker in what is a historical moment for the nation’s LGBTQ+ community. Activist Fausto Martínez received the groundbreaking document from the Civil Registry of Guanajuato on February 11, 2022.
Martínez originally applied to have their sex marked as ‘NB’ on official documentation in September 2021, a request which was denied by the National Electoral Institute (INE). Following the refusal, the 26-year-old teamed up with the Executive Director (Juan Pablo Delgado) of Amicus – an organisation dedicated to defending and promoting Mexico’s LGBTQ+ community.
¡Buenas noticias! El 11 de febrero, el Registro Civil de Guanajuato expidió la primera acta de nacimiento que reconoce a una persona de género no binario, producto de una demanda de amparo como parte del proyecto #Identitrans. pic.twitter.com/wwbX9zenlc
— Amicus (@amicusdh) February 16, 2022
Thus commenced a legal battle, and in January of this year, the court ruled in Martínez’s favour.
The activist took to Twitter to celebrate the moment, stating: “I have always said what is not named does not exist. For this reason, the transcendence of this fact, the Mexican state recognises that non-binary people exist and with that we are subject to rights and obligations.”
Les comparto que el pasado 11 de febrero recibí mi acta de nacimiento NB. Les cuento un poco como fue el proceso. pic.twitter.com/biz6RkgkYQ
— Fausto Martínez (@faustomtz_gto) February 16, 2022
Speaking to local news agency EFE, they added: “It is a collective achievement of non-binary people in Mexico, that our existence is legally recognised with all that that implies, making us a legal entity with rights and obligation.”
Although the ruling is only applicable to Martínez, they are hopeful that other non-binary people in Mexico will be able to similarly amend their birth certificates in the future.
In October 2021, Mexico’s North American neighbour, the USA similarly issued its first fully gender-inclusive passport with an ‘X’ gender marker. It was administered to an intersex Navy veteran, Dana Zzyym, who upon receiving the document stated: “I almost burst into tears when I opened the envelope, pulled out my new passport, and saw the ‘X’ stamped boldly under ‘sex’.”.
It is expected that the USA will offer the same option to any gender-non-conforming American seeking a passport from early 2022.
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