The (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: Homosexual Liberation Front or FLH), was the first public organization for

gay liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s in the Western world, that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoff ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It was led and cofounded by lesbian activist

Nancy Cárdenas Nancy Cárdenas (29 May 1934 – 23 March 1994) was a Mexican actress, poet, writer and feminist. Education Born in Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila, Cárdenas earned a doctorate in Philosophy and Letters at the National Autonomous University of Me ...

in 1971.

History

In the early 1970s, after the

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, Stonewall revolution, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of ...

, a group of people from different sexual diversities began regular meetings in Mexico City to discuss the oppressive situation they lived. Among them were actress and activist Nancy Cárdenas and writer and student activist Luis González de Alba.

Carlos Monsiváis Carlos Monsiváis Aceves (May 4, 1938 – June 19, 2010) was a Mexican philosopher, writer, critic, political activist, and journalist. He also wrote political opinion columns in leading newspapers within the country's progressive sectors. ...

gave Cárdenas documents from the American

Gay Liberation Front Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK, Australia and Canada. The GLF p ...

, motivating Cárdenas to found a formal group. She organized formal meetings that raise awareness among others about the importance of sexual diversity in the Mexican society. Some of the members of these circle had participated in social movements such as the

Mexican Movement of 1968 The Mexican Movement of 1968, also known as the Mexican Student Movement (''Movimiento Estudiantil'') was a social movement composed of a broad coalition of students from Mexico's leading universities that garnered widespread public support fo ...

. As a result of these meetings, the FLH was founded on August 15, 1971, in Mexico City. Meetings was conducted as a secret space given the repressive reception to social movements under the government of

Luis Echeverría Luis Echeverría Álvarez (; 17 January 1922 – 8 July 2022) was a Mexican lawyer, academic, and politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 57th president of Mexico from 1970 to 1976. Previously, ...

and homophobic behaviors in Mexican society. FLH activities included exercises of self-acceptance and recognition of individual and collective sexual diversity. The group was dissolved in 1973.

References

LGBTQ rights in Mexico 1971 establishments in Mexico Defunct organizations based in Mexico 1973 disestablishments in Mexico LGBTQ organizations based in Mexico Defunct LGBTQ organizations LGBTQ history in Mexico 1971 in LGBTQ history {{Mexico-org-stub