Since June 14 of this year at least ten trans women have
been murdered in Mexico, continuing a cycle of violence and impunity that has
claimed over 400 lives in the past decade.
The most recent case was the killing of the winner of a
beauty queen pageant in the municipality of Martínez de la Torre, in the State
of Veracruz. The half-naked body of Alaska Bout was found on July 25 with signs
of torture and barbed wire wrapped around her neck.
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| Alaska Bout |
Her death has resulted in a complaint from the United Nations
Human Rights Commission. Specific concern has been raised with regard to
security in Veracruz. According to the social anthropology research center (known
as CIESAS, or “Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología
Social”), Veracruz ranks first for the murder of trans people.
Alaska Bout was the second gay pageant queen to be
assassinated this year. In May Yamileth Quintero, winner of a beauty contest in
Elota, Sinaloa, was killed in the state capital of Culiacán. As a beauty queen,
the death of Alaska received widespread media attention in Mexico, unlike the
murders of other trans women, which were much lower profile. This has resulted
in a critique that Alaska, as a well-known and talented performer, had a life
that was valued higher than those trans women who lead more marginal lives,
given that some of the murdered individuals were sex trade workers.
