The Electoral Tribunal of the Judiciary of Mexico (TEPJF) has convicted Congresswoman Teresa Castell of “gendered violence” towards a trans-identified male politician, Salma Luévano, for referring to him as a “man.” This incident shortly follows news that a former Congressman had similarly been convicted for the exact same “crime” against Luévano.
Castell’s incident date back to March 2023, when Luévano, a Deputy with the governing Morena Party, reported her to the National Electoral Institute for referring to him as “a man” on YouTube and X (formerly Twitter). Two months later, the Electoral Tribunal issued a ruling stating that Castell had been found guilty of “political gendered violence,” a conviction which was confirmed by unanimous vote this past week.
The ruling states that Castell’s views constituted “political violence against women because of gender due to several statements made on a YouTube channel … and several posts made on [her] Twitter profile … against trans women and a federal deputy.”
As punishment, Castell must take a course on political violence, both against women because of gender and against LGBTTTIQA+ people. She must also extend a public apology and publish an excerpt of the sentence on her X account.
In addition, she will be catalogued in the National Registry of Persons Sanctioned in Political Matters against Women for Gender Reasons of the National Electoral Institute, a registry that was created to protect female politicians from political violence. Her sentence will also be recorded in the Catalogue of Subjects Sanctioned in Special Sanctioning Proceedings on the website of the Specialized Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal.
In accordance with her sentence, Castell has posted her apology to X.
“An apology is offered to Salma Luévano Luna, because the statements that I proffered on a YouTube program, and on my [X] profile, the latter in collaboration with Oscar Limeta Meléndez, were offensive, stereotyped and generated political violence against his person on the basis of gender.”
Se ofrece una disculpa a Salma Luévano Luna, porque las expresiones que emití en un programa de YouTube, y en mi perfil de Twitter, estas últimas en colaboración con Oscar Limeta Meléndez, fueron ofensivas, estereotipadas y generaron violencia política contra su persona en razón…
— Teresa Castell (@teresacastellmx) February 11, 2024
Though forced to apologize, Castell immediately followed with clarification.
“Mere formality. We are going to international bodies. The good thing? MILLIONS OF MEXICANS have already turned to see what gender ideology is and are beginning to know the dangers for WOMEN and CHILDREN. A FORCED apology is worthless, and everyone knows I am being FORCED …. Nothing is forever,” she wrote.
Mero trámite.
— Teresa Castell (@teresacastellmx) February 11, 2024
Nos vamos a instancias internacionales.
¿Lo bueno? MILLONES DE MEXICANOS ya voltearon a ver que es la Ideología de género y empiezan a saber los peligros para la MUJER y la NIÑEZ
Unas disculpas OBLIGADAS no tiene valor y todos saben que soy OBLIGADA …
Nada es…
Speaking to Reduxx, Congresswoman Castell said there was a silver lining to her conviction in that she felt Mexicans were now becoming aware of the dangers of gender ideology.
“The people of Mexico are beginning to realize what is happening, that this is not a simple matter of dressing as a woman and wanting to be called by a feminine name. No, it goes far beyond only dressing as a woman. It is our rights, it is our victories, and it is our liberties that are being appropriated, that today are being usurped and we have to put a stop to it,” she said.
“It is not a fight of woman against woman and man against man. Here we are fighting a totally unequal and unjust battle: it is a fight of women against men who believe, feel or disguise themselves as women.”
Castell went on to explain that the recent efforts of trans activists to pursue incidents of so-called hate speech have been “backfiring” in the eyes of the public, with more scrutiny being placed on the validity of the “trans genocide” they claim is taking place.
“In these last few months several [trans people] have died, and [activists] wanted to blame me for my hate speech. They vandalized Congress with the word ‘murderer’ and made a lot of fuss. But in the end, the only thing shown was that their deaths are caused either by each other or because of the lifestyle they were leading,” Castell said.
“The problem with them is that they call everything ‘hate speech.’ Well, I will not stop saying that the truth is not hate. What they really hate is the truth.”
Laura Lecuona, the head of WDI Mexico and author of Gender Identity: Lies and Dangers, praised Castell for being vocal in her opposition to gender ideology.
“Teresa Castell is not the only congresswoman who does not agree with the transgender doctrine, but she is the only one who dares to say it out loud, without fear of the consequences,” Lecuona told Reduxx.
Castell was not the first to be targeted by Luévano, who has a well-documented history of suing his political adversaries.
In April of 2022, he sued Federal Deputy Gabriel Quadri for “political violence against women based on gender and violence against LGTBQ people” for 11 posts Quadri made on X.
The court concluded that Quadri had committed political violence against women for calling Luévano “sir” and sentenced him to take two courses, one on political violence against women on the basis of gender and another on violence against LGBTQ people. He was also required to post a public apology to Luévano, and to refrain from “acts that generate violence or discrimination” towards any person.
Most recently, former Congressman Rodrigo Iván Cortés was also convicted of “gender-based political violence,” for social media posts on X and Facebook in which he referred to Luévano as a “man who calls himself a woman.”
Luévano filed a complaint against Cortés, arguing that 9 social media posts on X and Facebook violated his alleged right to be “recognized as a woman.” Cortés was also charged with “gender-based political violence” because Luévano is a deputy in the Mexican Congress.
Following his conviction, the Superior Chamber imposed a fine of $1,130 USD, and ordered Cortés to publish an apology daily on his social media accounts for 30 days.
Cortés was also ordered to take a course on “gender-based political violence” and was entered into the National Registry of Persons Sanctioned in Political Matters against Women.
Luévano celebrated the ruling against Castell on social media.
“Another blow to the far right and to transphobia! No freedom of expression should infringe on people’s rights, so misgendering and invalidating a trans woman’s identity is VIOLENCE and should be punished.”
Luévano is not the only trans-identified male representative in Mexico’s congress, and his Morena Party colleague, María Clemente, is similarly known for attacking those opposed to gender ideology.
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