Enrique Sánchez — a journalist who is a member of the Partido Accion Cuidadana (PAC), the first openly gay man elected to Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly was sworn in on Tuesday, May 1.
Sánchez told the Washington Blade on Thursday during a WhatsApp interview from the Costa Rican capital of San José that he never hid his sexual orientation during his campaign. Sánchez added the reaction he received from voters was “positive.”
“My campaign sought to promote visibility for the LGBT community,” he told the Blade. “My sexual orientation wasn’t something I hid.”
In January, days before the February 4 national elections, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (based in San Jose) issued a landmark ruling that recognized same-sex marriage and transgender rights. “(The ruling) is binding and it must be implemented,” Sánchez told the Blade.
He also told the Blade he hopes U.S. institutions can “stop” the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail the rights of LGBT people, women, migrants, people of color and other marginalized groups.
Read the original article on the Washington Blade.
