LGBTQ+ Activists Seek to Eradicate Homophobic Chants in Mexican Matches
Faced with the persistence of homophobic chants at matches of the Mexican national soccer team, LGBTQ+ activists have decided to take direct action. Their main goal is to eradicate this offensive practice before next summer’s World Cup. The chant, an insult that translates to “prostitute” in Spanish, went viral during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Despite the fines imposed, including one of 100,000 Swiss francs (equivalent to $114,000 at the time) for incidents at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the situation has not improved.Mexico, along with the United States and Canada, will host the 2026 World Cup, which will begin on June 11th of next year. Mexico is scheduled to play two friendly matches in the United States on September 6th and 9th. In the World Cup, Mexico will host 13 matches in three cities: Monterrey, Mexico City, and Guadalajara. In the latter, the chant was first heard during an Olympic qualifying match between Mexico and the United States in 2004. Subsequently, it spread to stadiums across the country, especially among the fans of the Atlas de Guadalajara football club. The insult is usually chanted when the opposing goalkeeper takes a goal kick and is more frequent when the Mexican team is losing the match.“Those fines haven’t done any good. And what has the federation done? Not much, and what it has done is useless,” declared Andoni Bello, LGBTQ+ activist and critic of the chant.
Andoni Bello
Initially, federation officials argued that the chant was not directed at the gay community and that the word had different connotations in Mexican culture. Then, they changed their strategy by launching social campaigns that were unsuccessful. Currently, they simply ask fans not to do it before matches. In 2022, the federation threatened to ban fans who sang the chant from accessing the stadiums for five years, but the measure was not applied.“I am concerned about the violence expressed in the stadiums, which is invisible and anonymous,” added Bello. “This normalized violence perpetuates homophobic hate crimes in this country. It seems very drastic, but it is real. If we think nothing is happening, we are perpetuating it.”
Andoni Bello
Bello is collaborating with Calma Comunidad, a non-profit organization that promotes sexual education, and with the National Council to Prevent Discrimination, a government agency that seeks to eradicate discrimination in Mexico. Together, they will approach first division teams and their fan clubs to conduct workshops before the World Cup.“The federation wanted to find other meanings for it. It has no other meanings; it is homophobic,” Bello stated. “We call on sponsors, institutions, players, teams, and fans to change the way they see people and their sexuality.”
Andoni Bello
Bello clarified that neither he nor the other organizations seek to stop fans from having fun in the stadium, but rather to prevent them from using homophobic insults.“It’s a great opportunity to generate these small, big changes. Here we are resisting to generate or promote those changes,” said David Moncada, who works for Calma Comunidad.
David Moncada
“I want my team to win and I want the other team to feel the pressure of the stadium. Of course, I’m going to shout and put pressure on them to make mistakes, but I don’t need to make homophobic comments,” added Bello. “It’s not necessary.”
Andoni Bello
