Majorities in Argentina, Mexico, Brazil support same-sex marriage

A survey by the Pew Research Center shows that support for same-sex marriage is shared by a majority in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina — which together account for about 60 percent of the Latin American population.

In Brazil, only 52 percent support same-sex marriage, while 40 percent oppose it. Argentina and Mexico are more accepting of same-sex unions — 67 and 63 percent, respectively. 

As in most of the 24 countries surveyed, views on the issue in Brazil are sharply divided along political and demographic lines, Pew said. Women, young adults, and left-leaning people are more likely to support same-sex marriage.

The data show that increased public support for legalizing same-sex marriage has increased over the last decade, although it is not possible to make direct comparisons with previous surveys because of differences in methodology.

In Brazil, the Supreme Court recognized this type of union in 2011, when the court understood that a family is not necessarily formed only by a man and a woman. Two years later, the National Council of Justice prevented notaries from refusing to perform same-sex marriages. 

But the Brazilian Congress has never approved a bill to this effect, unlike Argentina (which did so in 2010), Uruguay (2013), and Chile (2022).

One explanation for the country’s attitude is the high level of religiosity in the population. Brazilian Catholics (56 percent) are more likely to support same-sex marriage than evangelical Christians. 

Currently, evangelical Christians make up 30 percent of Brazilians. And the share is increasing: by 2032 they are expected to be the majority in the country.

Yet in the last decade, the number of same-sex marriages in Brazil has quadrupled. In 2013, the first full year after notaries were forced to acknowledge them, there were 3,700 marriages. In 2022, there were nearly 13,000.

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