You might remember back in May when Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa went on the offensive against marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples and a gender identity bill currently making its way through the nation's legislature. There was enough of an international backlash for him to extend a semi-apology but he still stood behind his statements and proclaimed he was the best president the LGBT community in Ecuador had ever had.
One unintended consequence of the president's stand against marriage equality was the emergence of a marriage equality movement in Ecuador which had been dormant but jumped into action as LGBT advocates realized their president wasn't necessarily on their side.
Among them was Pamela Troya who angrily denounced President Correa on Twitter telling him he was denigrating and disrespecting people like her by using dogma and prejudice to govern.
His response? "No problem," he twitted on May 23rd, "We'll launch a popular referendum in the next elections and we'll see if those dogmas and prejudice are my own."
Until now, Pamela and Gabriela had been the public face of the Civil Marriage Equality initiative but this week they announced that a second couple in Guayaquil would be filing paperwork to request a marriage license and this morning Santiago Vinces and Fernando Saltos did just that.
Carrying signs that read "Love is equality", "Without equality there is no liberty" and "Love does not discriminate" two dozen people including Pamela and Gabriela, attorney Silvia Buendia and television soap opera star Erika Velez acted as witnesses for the couple and marched with them as they made their way to the civil registry office and submitted their paperwork. As with Pamela and Gabriela, the court has 8 days to respond and the couple will appeal that decision if they are denied the right to marry.
Gabriela Correa and Panela Troya.
In defending his stance against marriage equality, President Correa highlighted his work in securing passage of a 2008 constitution which allowed civil unions for same-sex couples even as it also defined marriage as that between a man and a woman. At least on paper, the constitutional reform meant that same-sex couples would have all the rights of married heterosexual couples except for the right to adopt.
In practice, though, an upcoming study to be released by Silueta X which surveyed civil registry offices in Guayaquil found that only 1.2% of 2,805 same-sex couples had registered their civil unions in the five years since the constitution was adopted and, of 42 civil registry offices in the city, only two reported having recently completed a civil union registration. Silueta X says they will release the full results of the study on November 29th and report whether some registries are throwing roadblocks for same-sex couples who might want to enter into a civil union.
Advocates face an uphill battle in repealing constitutional language that bans same-sex marriages but President Correa's opposition certainly has lit a fire in them and as other countries in the region allow same-sex couples to marry it raises the bar for other regional leaders to follow.
There are signs that President Correa is willing to listen to some of these actions and appeals. At least on the issue of the gender identity bill he has continued to have a dialogue with transgender rights advocate Diane Rodriguez in the months since he publicly stated that he saw the bill as a Trojan horse attack on the institution of marriage.
In the meantime, while he "evolves", the resurgence of a visible LGBT rights movement in Ecuador is reason to rejoice.
UPDATE (Nov. 29th, 2013): It took just one day for the Ecuadorean government and its civil registry office to say Santiago and Fernando did not meet the qualifications for a marriage license since they were not a man and a woman. Helpfully, it did urge the couple to come back if and when they manage to gather enough proof to prove otherwise.
The Ecuadorean Civil Marriage Equality initiative has said that they expected the ruling and will be appealing it. They also say they are recruiting same-sex couples who might be interested in joining their movement and launch similar petitions before the civil registry offices of Ecuador.
News report (Spanish):
Additional info:
More photos of this morning's press conference and rally here.
Follow Ecuador's "Matrimonio Civil Igualitario" on Twitter here.
Language penalizing sexual contact between same-sex individuals was struck down from the penal code by the nation's Constitutional Tribunal in 1997. A year later the country adopted a new constitution which became the first in the Americas to grant sexual orientation protected status.
Under president Rafael Correa who was elected to office in 2007, further changes to the penal code made hate speech a crime and set fines and prison sentences for "those who incite hate against any
other person for reason of their sex, sexual orientation, or sexual
identification."
In a set back, the 2008 constitution enshrined marriage as being that between a man and a woman and limited adoption rights to heterosexual couples but it also granted same-sex couples civil unions that offered some legal protections including inheritance rights. Correa had initially argued that there was no need to limit marriage in the constitution but caved in to pressure from evangelicals and fundamentalists who demanded the ban. Gay couples have also had a tough time registering their civil unions.
In 2008, when Ecuadorian immigrant José Osvaldo Sucuzhañay was attacked and murdered on the streets of New York after he and his brother were mistaken for a gay couple, Correa said "Together we will fight to forever root out these abhorrent acts committed by certain maladjusted individuals, root them out from the face of the earth, from humanity: Xenophobia, homophobia and all kinds of discrimination, all kinds of violence."
An apology: Most recently and in the heat of his third re-election campaign, President Corréa lost his temper after a critic called him a "faggot" on a Facebook page and challenged the man to meet with him to let him show "who the real fag is." (VIDEO).
Members of LGBT-rights organizations were outraged and demanded an apology. They got two earnest apologies, one before the election (VIDEO) and one during his acceptance speech on the night he won a decisive vote for a third and final term (VIDEO). That was on February 17th of this year.
The reason for the second apology, Correa said, was because he didn't want the LGBT community to think he had apologized the first time for political gain. He added "I offer my full respect, my efforts and my commitment to eliminate all types of discrimination in this country."
Considering
Correa's considerable track record on LGBT issues, his seemingly heartfelt
apologies for using a derogatory word and his public commitment to protect the Ecuadorian LGBT
community you might think the next four years might bode well for said community barring, you know, a stunning turnaround. Well...
A stunning turnaround: The national debate the last few weeks have been consumed by a decision by Health Minister Carina Vance Mafla to approve the "morning after" pill. Conservative religious leaders are apoplectic about the decision and a group calling themselves "The 14 Million" swore millions of people would demonstrate against the government last Sunday (by most newspaper accounts only 2,500 showed up).
A day before the religious rallies President Correa used his weekly televised speech to "counter" the claims made by the so-called "14 Million" and in the process actually gave them much more than they probably expected.
Key points:
He denied his government was pushing for marriage equality and highlighted the constitutional ban he once called unnecessary saying that no other type of partnership could ever be considered a marriage except for that between a man and a woman.
He acknowledged there were current efforts in the national assembly to pass a gender identity law but mocked the legislator introducing the bill and promised to veto the bill if it ever reached his desk.
The shock and disappointment among leading Ecuadorian LGBT rights advocates was palpable on the social networks and many took to Twitter to demand an explanation from Correa on the eve of his inauguration.
Twitter wars: Silvia Buendía, who ran for political office during the last election, sent a tweet introducing Correa to a lesbian couple profiled in a newspaper article telling him "Dear President Correa, I present my friends Diana and Maribel, they love each other, they take care of each other, they are family"...
Pamela Troya who was recently profiled with her family in La Hora, angrily highlighted a key contradiction in the Presdent's statements from stands he had taken as recent as February. "President Correa, look at you statements from February 12th during the NEVER FORGET campaign", she wrote.
A screen capture image quoted statements Correa had made during a February 12th radio interview on the issue of a gender identity bill. "Choosing one's gender and name, I agree with that," Correa said, "that's liberty, each person in accordance to their sexual orientation should be able to choose their gender identity and register their name and their gender with the civil registry."
Using a marriage referendum as a threat: Pamela also tweeted "President Correa, you denigrate us and disrespect us when you use dogma and prejudice to govern."
This time it drew an angry response from President Correa himself. "No problem," Correa wrote, "I will set up a popular referendum during the next midterm elections and we will see if it's all about my dogmas and prejudices."
On Thursday, in an interview shot and aired a day before the inauguration of his third term Correa dug deeper in...
Key points:
"I am economically and socially progressive but very conservative when it comes to moral issues" Correa stated.
Correa argued that the gender identity law is actually a Trojan horse being used to impose "gay marriage" on Ecuador.
If Ecuador would follow worldwide trends and approve marriage equality, Correa argued, it would be akin to distributing drugs for free because drugs are also trendy (he then offered an immediate apology because, as he put it, drugs are illegal and homosexuality is not).
International LGBT reaction: That second interview got much more attention than his little seen initial statements a week ago. This time LGBT leaders from all of Latin America reacted.
The head of the largest LGBT-rights organization in Chile, Rolando Jiménez...
En general, el "Progresismo Latinoamericano" es conservador y autoritario Presidente de Ecuador lo confirma cuando cambio cultural lo supera
— Rolando Jiménez(@rjimenez_perez) May 25, 2013
"In general, 'Progressive Latin America' is conservative and authoritarian. The Ecuadorian president confirms this when cultural change steps ahead of him."
Cuban blogger Francisco Rodríguez (better known as Paquito el de Cuba) sent several tweets including this one:
"Rafael Correa embarrasses the left with his homophobia against marriage equality in Ecuador"
Colombian LGBT-rights activist Mauricio Albarracín who was instrumental in the advances in LGBT rights we have seen in Colombia...
@mashirafael Presidente Correa. Hacer referendo para decidir derechos de minorías es propio de derecha reaccionaria @pametroya @marcosruizq
— Mauricio Albarracin (@malbarracin) May 23, 2013
"President Correa: To put up minority rights up to a referendum belongs to reactionary right wing governments."
Maria Rachid, who was the head of the Argentine LGBT Federation when the country became the first in Latin America to pass a marriage equality bill tweeted this:
@mashirafael Lo respeto x muchas cosas, se equivoca en esto. Hay familias cuyos derechos no se respetan en Ecuador, usted puede repararlo.
— María Rachid (@mariarachid) May 25, 2013
"Rafael Correa, I respect you on many issues but you are mistaken on this one. There are families whose rights are disrespected in Ecuador and you can fix it."
Alex Freyre, who can claim with his partner José Maria di Bello the title of the first gay couple to ever get married in Latin America chose to go the humorous route:
Si conversamos 5 minutos con el bombón de Correa, aprueba el matrimonio igualitario por decreto.
— Alex Freyre (@AlexFreyre) May 24, 2013
"If they let me talk to that cutie of Correa for five minutes I'll make sure he approves marriage equality by presidential decree."
Correa was not moved.
Kids should only be adopted by heterosexual couples: On Saturday, a day after his inauguration ceremony, he appeared on his weekly television show, reiterated his newly minted "socially conservative" positions and added a few more. He also demanded gratitude from the LGBT community....
Key points:
"No other government has done more for the GLBTI community than mine," says Correa.
The LGBT community would never ask as much from a right wing government and is upset because they have an "all or nothing" strategy just like indigenous people.
Correa says LGBT groups hurt themselves and hurt the government by not acknowledging how much the he has done for them and should show gratefulness instead (he also says their rebellion threatens the stability of the country by opening the door to sponsoring future conservative governments).
Correa admits he once supported the gender identity bill (without mentioning he gave his full support just two months ago) and says he changed his mind when he suddenly realized it was a ploy to get to same-sex marriages (yeah, right).
He parrots the "14 Million" claim that family can only be that of "A man, a woman and a child" and that he opposes adoption rights for same-sex couples because adopted children should be raised by a "traditional" family.
The official Twitter account for the Presidency of Ecuador highlighted the president's statements.
"'I am not in favor of gay marriage' empathizes President Correa."
Gender identity law: The most heartbreaking reality in all of this is that a gender identity law Correa supported just two months ago lies in the balance and has now been trashed by the president.
Trans rights activist Diane Rodriguez has been calling Correa on this since he started this anti-LGBT crusade sending him a message on Twitter and asking him for a meeting...
Diane is the leading advocate for a gender identity law and has participated in several PSA's calling such a law...
She also ran for a local political office and as she stood on the voting line last year she tweeted about the humiliation she felt when she was forced by election officials to stand in the men's line despite asking to be allowed to vote on the women's line. It had nothing to do with marriage equality but perfectly illustrated why Ecuador needs a gender identity law.
Since all this broke, LGBT advocates have asked Correa to explain why he has turned his back on LGBT rights. Some have asked why he would even treat a presidential cabinet member as a second hand citizen.
So far Carina Vance has remained silent but Raul Vallejo - a former education minister and current Ecuadorian ambassador to Colombia expressed his disappointment:
El matrimonio debería ser institución q permita a 2 personas, sin perjuicio d su orientación sexual, proteger legalmente 1 proyecto d vida.
— Raúl Vallejo (@banano59) May 23, 2013
"Marriage should be an institution that allows 2 people to legally protect their plan for life, regardless of prejudice or sexual orientation," he stated.
Final point: Let's be clear here. Correa has tried to use his televised speeches to denigrate and blame the LGBT community for these series of homophobic statements but before his response to the "14 Million" movement he entirely supported the gender identity law and there was no active movement for marriage rights for same-sex couples in Ecuador.
Correa's statements are purely a president caving in to the fundamentalist religious leaders who drew only 2,500 to their rallies.
UPDATE: After asking for a meeting with the president, Diane was invited to the post-inauguration ceremony on May 27th, 2013 and shared this photo on Twitter. I asked her if she had a chance to speak to the president and she said she only had a chance to ask to speak to him on a later occasion and that Correa expressed a willingness to schedule a meeting.
Rafael Correa's landslide victory on Sunday for his third and final term as president of Ecuador did not come as much of a surprise to observers of the region nor the president himself. Correa took to the airwaves less than an hour after the polls closed to declare victory, thank voters, commit himself to strengthening the populist economic policies that have defined his presidency and dedicate his win to ailing Venezuelan president and ally Hugo Chávez.
What few international observers have noted is that Correa also used a few moments during the 40 minute televised speech to apologize to the Ecuadorean lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (Tip: Turn volume level down before watching this clip and turn YouTube annotations on for an onscreen translation).
My translation:
A few months ago I used a number of inappropriate words that were offensive to LGBT groups and for which I apologized in writing - and I stated I would apologize again after winning [the election] to
make sure they knew I wasn't doing it simply for political gain.
Once again I'd like to express my apologies to those LGBT groups for
some words that might have escaped me. Each one of us was born and grew
up with stereotypes and stigmas and we have to fight against this type
of - let's call it deformed - social upbringing, etcetera. But our commitment is to defend everyone's dignity and equality. We
are diverse but never unequal.
And I was reminded of this by the leader
of a GLBT group who I greatly admire a couple of days ago. You need a lot of courage to lead these type of movements. Let's
offer them all our support and - on a personal basis - I offer my full
respect and the effort and commitment to eliminate all types of
discrimination in this country.
The incident in question occurred on July 28th of last year during one of the public semi-weekly marathon presentations Correa uses to "report back" to the Ecuadorean community - much like Fidel Castro and Chávez used to stage at the top of their game (Turn YouTube annotations on for an onscreen translation).
International human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch have long criticized Correa for using his presidential powers to browbeat antagonist media outlets and curtail the right to freedom of speech and in this particular excerpt from the latter part of a four hour presentation Correa goes against one of his favorite targets: El Comercio.
In the clip Correa calls the report "slanderous" and a "barbarity" and denies ever considering attending the games. But what truly draws his ire is an online comment made by a reader on El Commercio's Facebook page calling the president a fag: "The fag thought that faggotry was part of the Olympic games and thought
he could bring a gold medal in homosexuality - which is his strength...
Degenerate fag."
Never mind Correa is holding El Comercio for comments made from a Facebook reader based in Spain. What outraged members of the LGBT community in Ecuador was the president's response: "If anyone knows this gentleman let me know. And I'll invite him and only
him to tell me these vicious things face to face. To see who's the real
fag."
On August 2nd, El Comercio shot back by publishing an open letter signed by a number of LGBT-rights leaders under the name of the GLBT Alliance. The group said they were disgusted by the comments made by the Facebook member but even more disappointed that someone they had supported and considered a friend of the community had responded to homophobic insults with just as homophobic a response. A translated excerpt:
We regret that a "revolutionary" president and those who are close to the government are still bound backward notions which keep them from reaching the heights of statesmanship of the caliber of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Barack Obama, Jose Luis Zapatero or Francois Hollande who have chosen jump on the train of history and time to bet on behalf of the rights of citizens regardless of their sexuality. Respectfully, Mr. President, we believe the GLBT community of this country and particularly those who voted for you are waiting for you to acknowledge our existence and are deserving of an apology.
That led to Correa's first apology on his next marathon "report back" session on August 4th, a week after his homophobic rant.
A translated excerpt:
I trust you know that there has been no other [Ecuadorean] government
that has fought to guarantee GLBT rights as this one has done. That's
why we've had to confront fundamentalist and ultra-conservative groups
and will continue to do so. But if the president committed a mistake and
you consider it as such I have no problem in saying I am sorry. These
apologies will also be expressed in writing to the four organizations
that signed this statement posted in the social networks.
And
because you know there will be bad faith journalists who'll argue I am
doing this because the election season is near, ladies and gentlemen, if
I decide to run and the Ecuadorean people give me the privilege of
winning the election with their vote, the next day after winning the
election I will reaffirm this apology. I am extremely sorry if I
overreached, I sincerely am sorry if I offended you. I do not deny that I
harbor prejudice and stigma inside of me because we have all grown up
in this society.
I remember the apology when it was reported last summer and how it struck me as sincere and groundbreaking for a Latin American head of state.
Critics say he continues to oppose marriage equality legislation based on religious beliefs and has not worked hard enough to enforce existing gender identity laws that protect transgender individuals from discrimination. In July a number of LGBT-rights activists who organized an anti-homophobia rally in Guayaquil criticized the way government forces shut them down.
I hope Correa's seemingly sincere efforts mean there is an openness to address these and other issues in his last term in office. If so, we more than welcome his reiterated apologies to the LGBT community.
Presidential Cabinet appointment: Continuing with his LGBT-friendly record, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa announced this week that Carina Vance Mafla, who is a lesbian, would take the reigns of the country's Health Ministry. The appointment followed the resignation earlier in the month of the previous health minister over criticism he had failed to modernize a health system that has been mired in inefficiency.
Vance made no mention of her sexual orientation when she was introduced to the press on Wednesday nor did the press ask about it. Instead, the press picked up on it a day later after the Ecuadoran LGBT-advocacy organization Equal Rights Now (Igualdad de Derechos Ya!) released a press statement calling her a "lesbian activist" and saluting her appointment as a historic first.
In the statement, the organization goes on to say that they hope the newly appointed minister will pay attention to current delays in the distribution of HIV medications, create guidelines to prevent discrimination against LGBT individuals at hospitals and health centers and take action on shutting down illegal religious "clinics" that promote "cures" for homosexuality.
Background: It's not as if Vance is unwilling to talk public about being gay. In the April 2010 issue of the Ecuadorean magazine Cosas she describes coming to terms with her sexuality after a harrowing experience that happened on a bus when she was just thirteen years old.
Born in Oakland, California, Vance lived in Europe during her teens. In the article she describes hanging out with her first crush and holding hands with her as they rode a public bus in Europe. She says that she stopped holding hands the moment she realized a group of guys in their twenties had noticed the gesture.
Vance says that one of the men got closer and started spitting at them while a second man sat behind them and shouted insults. When she turned around to confront the guy shouting homophobic epithets, he punched her in the face. She thought she would be safe the moment she got off the bus but she was wrong.
"They followed me home, kicking me and shouting at me," she says, "for me, it was a matter of pride that kept me from running, so I just walked on forward even as they continued to kick me. [The experience] not only helped me to become fully aware of my sexuality but also made me aware of the societal reaction to it."
Vance would then move to Quito with her family where she attended high-school but says that she felt it was impossible for her at that particular time to live openly. She decided to move back to the United States after graduation where she spent twelve years finishing college and graduate degrees.
"When I returned [to Ecuador] in 2004, it shocked me to see the gay flag prominently displayed at a university" she says.
Vance realized just how much Ecuador had changed for the better and told the magazine that she now lived in Quito happily and openly without fear of being attacked.
"Lesbian torture clinics": In 2008, I wrote about a two-part investigative report in Ecudor's El Universo which exposed a network of 140 illegal "clinics" that promised to "cure" gays and lesbians and turn them straight ("Ecuador: Kidnapping, torture and confinement at ex-gay therapy centers").
The articles earned the paper a prestigious journalism award and led to calls for the government to shut down the so-called clinics.
Most recently, the "clinics" gained renewed attention when U.S. based online activism petition sites Change.org and AllOut.org launched calls in November for the Ecuadorean government to shut down the "lesbian torture clinics" at the request of Ecuadorean lesbian-rights organization Fundación Causana.
The "clinics", as reported, actually don't discriminate based on gender when it comes to their zeal to convert the gay away and, to their credit, the government took some action last September when they shut down 30 clinics back in September.
After ten years of outcry, the nation of Ecuador - through the Ministry of Public Health - has entered into a commitment with civic organizations and society in general to deconstruct the belief that homosexuality is an illness and root our the use of torture in these clinics. We extend our thanks to all the men and women who signed our petition. It has been invaluable to have this support in starting to change this reality.
That is amazing news but this is what is just as amazing:
The online petitions that Change.org and AllOut.org posted were addressed to Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and the former Health Minister David Chiriboga Allnutt. That Health Ministry seat, of course, is now held by Carina Vance.
Well, it turns out that at the time Vance gave that interview to Cosas on coming to terms with her sexuality, she just happened to be the Executive Director of Fundación Causana.
In other words, the agreement that Fundación Causana announced with the government probably has a lot to do with tremendous international pressure. But in an amazing turnaround of events, it's probably also due to the fact that the woman who previously led the agency leading the drive against the clinics is now the country's Health Minister.
In a week that saw the remains of José Osvaldo Sucuzhañay flown from the United States to Ecuador to be buried near his family yesterday, Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa (right) has vowed to fight against homophobia and xenophobia in his country and elsewhere.
From a Spanish-language article by AFP, an excerpt of which I have translated to English:
The Ecuadorean immigrant José Sucuzhañay, of 31 years of age, was "vilely assassinated for xenophobic reasons, for homophobia; They mistook him for a homosexual and was with his brother" as they walked in Brooklyn, New York, said Correa.
"We will fight together ... to forever uproot these aberrations of certain maladjusted [individuals], uproot them from the face of the earth, from humanity: Xenophobia, homophobia and all kinds of discrimination, all kinds of violence," he said.
Sucuzhañay and his brother Romel were attacked in the early morning of December 7th by what are described as three black men who wielded a bat. While Romel was able to escape without serious injury, José passed away on December 12th after spending days in a coma at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens.
President Correa's comments were similar to those made yesterday by another of the Sucuzhañay brothers during José's burial in Cuenca, Ecuador. From The Associated Press:
"My heart is broken and so is that of all my family," his brother German said during a funeral Mass in the cathedral of the southern town of Cuenca. Sucuzhanay's coffin was scattered with roses and covered with the Ecuadorean flag.
"The brutal killing of my brother Osvaldo is the result of xenophobia, of homophobia and racism that our compatriots are experiencing in these times," he said, calling on Ecuador's government to demand that U.S. authorities solve the crime.
Interestingly it was yet another Sucuzhañay brother who lives in New York that had previously denied that any anti-gay slurs had been shouted during the attack as police reports and most accounts picked up by media. From a December 12th article in El Diario La Prensa:
[Diego] Sucuzhañay denied the versions [of events] given by authorities that his brothers Romel and José Osvaldo were shouted anti-gay phrases.
"My brother Romel told me that they shouted insults against Latinos, that they shouted 'Hispanics, sons of bitches,' but not anti-gay insults."
The apparent unease in calling the attack a homophobic one also was reflected by calls for action from certain Latino leaders and Ecuadorean community organizations in New York who highlighted the xenophobic aspect of insults that were allegedly shouted during the attack but never made any mention that there might have been anti-gay slurs shouted as well.
President Correa might have chosen the same route but he seems to understand that the fact that the Sucuzhañay brothers were attacked because a few guys thought they were a gay couple is as troubling as the fact that they were attacked because they were Latinos. Not surprising, then, that he is one of the most progressive Latin American presidents on LGBT issues.
I am no fan of the nouveau-socialist movements sweeping Latin America (at least in the Hugo Chavez or Evo Morales guise) but if you have to give credit where credit is due, that means Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa gets props for defeating the massive anti-gay evangelical fringe in his efforts to push for a new constitution that recognizes some rights of same-sex couples (among other savory and unsavory things).
The new constitution guarantees civil rights for gays and lesbians, including civil unions affording all the rights of marriage... Preliminary results showed 65 percent support with 5 percent of the vote counted, mirroring earlier exit polls and quick counts that indicated overwhelming voter approval...
This despite virulently homophobic political opposition as we have reported in the past (see below). But, as someone comments on the Gay365.com board:
Hate to rain on the 'We love Ecuador' parade, but Spanish readers will note that next to the clause on civil unions is a line affirming that marriage is only between a man and a woman, as well as a ban on gay adoption (Article 67 and 68). So, it is more of a “one-step forward, two-steps backwards” sort of constitution. English language gay media tends to over-exaggerate the progress in other countries (while undermining the substantive gains that have achieved in the Anglophone world itself).
He is partly right! Correa says that the new Ecuadorean constitution would afford "all the rights of marriage" but, of course, the fact that it would bar adoption rights for same-sex couples means it does not.
It is still way more than the United States government has ever done. And, considering the concerted efforts by the religious right in Ecuador to sink any recognition of same-sex rights it is a tremendous victory. Let's wait and see how the mandate is implemented.
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