Patria Jiménez (born Elsa Patria Jiménez Flores in 1957 in

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

) is

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

politician and head of '' El Clóset de Sor Juana'' (Sister Juana's Closet). In 1997, representing the PRD. Openly

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, she became the first

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

member of Mexico's legislature in the country's history—the first in any legislature in Latin America. Jiménez is the longtime head of Sister Juana's Closet, a lesbian rights group named after

Juana Inés de la Cruz ''Doña'' Inés de Asbaje y Ramírez de Santillana, better known as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (12 November 1648 – 17 April 1695) was a Mexican writer, philosopher, composer and poet of the Baroque period, and Hieronymite nun. Her contributi ...

, a Carmelite nun and renowned Mexican poet. It is a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

accredited Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). Both as a civil rights leader and a member of the government, Jimenez is a major Latin American voice for

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

rights and civil rights in general.

Political career

Jiménez is a member of the

Party of the Democratic Revolution The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD, es, Partido de la Revolución Democrática, ) is a social democratic political party in Mexico. The PRD originated from the Democratic Current, a political faction formed in 1986 from the Institut ...

(PRD). In 1997 she was elected federal deputy hence she served during the

LVII Legislature of the Mexican Congress The LVII Legislature of the Congress of Mexico The Congress of the Union ( es, Congreso de la Unión, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the l ...

. In 2000 she was elected substitute Senator but took office in the senate until 2006 when senator

Demetrio Sodi Demetrio Javier Sodi de la Tijera (; born September 25, 1944) is a Mexican journalist, businessman and politician who has served in the upper and lower houses of the Congress of the Union, and as head of Miguel Hidalgo borough from 2009 to 201 ...

left that position therefore she served as senator during the final months of the LIX Legislature.

References

Jimenez, Patricia Jimenez, Patricia Jimenez, Patricia Jimenez, Patricia Jimenez, Patricia Jimenez, Patricia Jimenez, Patricia Women members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico) LGBT members of the Congress of Mexico Mexican lesbian politicians Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) {{Mexico-politician-DemocraticRevolution-stub