Chilean President-elect Gabriel Boric giving victory speech in 2021 after winning the election. (Photo by Fotografoencampana, from Wikimedia Commons – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license)
Chilean President-elect Gabriel Boric named Jan. 21 two openly LGBTQ people to his Cabinet.
Marco Antonio Ávila, who is a gay man, will be the country’s education minister. Alexandra Benado, who is a lesbian, will be Chile’s sports minister.
Javiera Zúñiga, a spokesperson for Movilh (Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual), a Chilean LGBTQ rights group, applauded Boric for naming Ávila and Benado to his Cabinet.
“The visibility of sexual orientation and gender identity is no longer an impediment to access any position in Chile,” said Zúñiga in a press release. “Sexual orientation and gender identity are irrelevant for the positions, whether they are public or private. Capability is the only thing that matters.”
Boric and his government will take office on March 11. Chile’s marriage equality law goes into effect the day before.
