A far-right politician in Mexico got more than she bargained for after proposing a bill to ban hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery for transgender minors. On Tuesday, transgender rights activists broke into Mexico City’s Congress building, calling for the ouster of América Rangel, the deputy who proposed the bill, and vandalizing the offices of her National Action Party (PAN). Demonstrators threw rocks, smashed windows, and spray painted “América Rangel Out” on a door outside the building, before being beaten by security, according to a video from activists. “I am inside Congress, we tried to enter, we got in, they repressed us. I am all beaten up, the congressional security hit me,” said Victoria Sámano, a protester, adding that she believes that “for this city, the Deputies are more important than trans people.” Rangel responded in a tweet, saying, “What happened today in the Mexico City Congress is very serious, but those who think that they are going to break me are very wrong.” Rangel’s bill, which the left-wing Morena party called “hate speech,” proposes criminal prosecution for people who prescribe hormone therapy or perform gender-affirming operations.
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