Less Party, More Protest: Activists Call for Changes to Mexico City Pride March Mar García - GPJ Mexico
go to original October 24, 2023

Members of Bloque Disidente protest against the participation of brands and government institution vehicles at the 2023 Pride celebration in Mexico City. (Mar García, GPJ Mexico)

With shouts of “down with brands,” “they want your money, not your rights” and “pride is not sold; pride is defended,” dozens of protesters united on Paseo de la Reforma, one of the most important avenues in Mexico City, to symbolically shut down promotional vehicles. It was June 24, and thousands of people had congregated for the 2023 Pride March.

Bloque Disidente — a movement that brings together organizations, collectives, activists and members of civil society to fight for the rights of those in the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and others) community — organized the protest against the exploitation of the Pride March to achieve a better business image. As a result, some brands have reexamined their participation in the event and their role in combating discrimination.

“The brands are overshadowing the real purpose of the march. All the attention is on the brands: what they’re going to do, what famous people they’re going to bring, what show they’re going to put on, what they’re going to give away, how their floats will be decorated. And the media focus on the brands, too,” says Victoria Sámano, founder of LLECA, an organization that supports people in the LGBTQ+ community who are experiencing homelessness.

Sámano participated in the protest to shut down the motor vehicles, double-decker buses and portable stages that brands and government agencies use for giveaways and to showcase celebrities. According to a press release from Bloque Disidente, of which her organization is a member, these vehicles are part of an “insidious pinkwashing strategy for the purpose of turning a profit.”

Pinkwashing refers to a business strategy of showing support for the LGBTQ+ community, but with the goal of sprucing up the company’s own image. Its actions may not align with that support.

This is why members of Bloque Disidente are demanding that the Pride March be commemorated as a protest targeting the discrimination that takes place against people who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, not as a party. Representatives from some brands decided to participate with the protesters, listening to their social outcry.

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