The Minister of Equality, Irene Monterohas sent a message this Wednesday to the feminists of the PSOE who in recent months have demonstrated against the trans law drawn up by your Ministry. “Trans women are also women,” she said from the Chamber of the Lower House.
The message is about a whole dart, nothing veiled, to the former vice president of the Government carmen bald and leader of that orthodox feminism within the socialist ranks. And it is that, at the end of October, Calvo refused to answer the questions of the also former vice president Pablo Iglesias during a radio talk show.
“Are trans women women?” Iglesias asked directly as they debated. Calvo, for his part, evaded giving an answer and said that he “is debating that text right now.”
Irene Montero’s reference was made this afternoon during the debate on the law, which will be approved without surprises this Thursday in the Congress of Deputies. This is a mere formality, since the positions of the parties were established in the Equality Commissionwhich is precisely chaired by Calvo, but returned to plenary session because an invocation was approved.
“We are aware of transphobia in the public debate”, said the minister. “Today the feminist majority of this chamber responds to the lgtbiphobia with more rights”, he added, emphasizing that the “Trans Law is for the whole society”.
On behalf of the PSOE, the deputy Andrea Fernandez the one in charge of defending the position of his party. It has not been an easy task, since her formation led a harsh schism during the process between the LGTBI sector and the feminist sector. Fernández herself approaches the orthodox sector of feminism, but she has always tried to show a pragmatic attitude.
Despite the internal discrepancies, the socialist has puffed up her role in this regulation: “We are the most important group, the most numerous and the determinant in the approval of this law,” she said.
He has also responded to part of the criticism received from United We Can by saying that “it is wrong to accuse my party of agreeing with the right.” “It’s a lack of respect,” he assured. “Peter Zerolo [histórico socialista y activista LGTBI] He never had to be above his party’s voting discipline, he abided by it,” he added.
To the LGTBI community, he has assured, “we did not fail them in the past, nor did we fail them now, nor will we fail them in the future”.
lack of discussion
From the opposition, both PP and Ciudadanos have accused the Government of carrying out this law without counting on the opinion of experts. The truth is that the urgent procedure has shortened the terms of the debate and none of the experts who have requested it to appear have been summoned in the Equality Commission.
“The worst thing is not to make a mistake, but to try to justify it,” said the PP deputy Rosa Maria Romero. He has compared this norm with the Law of ‘only yes is yes’, which has served to reduce sentences for those convicted of sexual assaults and has said that “no more damage can be done in a shorter space of time”.
“Legislating is not about putting on t-shirts with proclamations and insulting judges, but about having a serious and calm debate with the whole of society,” he added. He has also criticized the PSOE by asking “where are your amendments?”
This is because the Socialists had presented some amendments to, among other things, put a stop to gender self-determination and provide minors with greater legal security when changing gender. Despite the fact that these amendments have not prospered, the Socialists will continue with the process.
Sara Gimenez, from Ciudadanos, has accused the Government of not “living up to the circumstances” due to this lack of debate around the norm. “The opportunity to make a guaranteed and serious law is lost,” he said, adding that “Unidas Podemos and the PSOE have assumed the representativeness of trans people.”
“This is the first time that a paper has been closed the same day it opens… It has been a sloppy process and, being one of the main laws of our democracy, it does not deserve a sloppy process,” he assured.
