¡La Puebla Lucha! LGBTI Activism and Organizing against Violence in El Salvador

Abstract

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) people in El Salvador face some of the highest rates of violence in the world. The modalities of violence impacting the LGBTI population span across many levels, including physical, economic, structural, and symbolic, and intersections of identity like gender, race, sexuality, and class within the population determine people’s proximity to and risk for violence. In response, local organizations, some with international ties and others working independently on a small-scale are attempting to organize the LGBTI population into a community that can work to redress this violence through community-building and support structures as well as make visible the oppression the community faces at a public and legislative level. This thesis outlines the historical formation of the Salvadoran LGBTI movement beginning in the 1980s through the present day, focusing on coalition-building and historical moments of unity that have led to the creation of a national Federación Salvadoreña LGBTI, or a federation of LGBTI organizations, to combat the most important issues facing the Salvadoran LGTBI population currently. Through an analysis of interviews and participant observation, this thesis examines the numerous and interconnected iterations of oppression and violence facing the Salvadoran LGBTI community and consequently explores the ways in which organizations and activists are strategically responding to the violence that devastates their community.