Last Thursday, one of the most controversial characters in Mexico's political life, once again gave something to talk about. The deputy for the National Action Party (PAN), Gabriel Quadri de la Torre, who has given something to talk about countless times, was again the subject of conversation.
And it was severely criticized by other political actors, after making a comment that they described as “transphobic”, in the middle of the Chamber of Deputies. During Thursday's session, the deputy called Salma Luévano as “sir” despite the fact that she identifies as a woman, which was condemned by different members of political parties positioned on both sides of the spectrum, mainly the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the PAN itself.
Afterwards, Quadri, in an interview with journalist Azucena Uresti, accepted that it was too much of him to call her sir and acknowledged that “it was an excess and a mistake, so from today on I am going to refer to her as a woman and as a deputy.”
Following Quadri's comment, several female deputies took over the board of directors of the House in the form of a protest. This is not the first controversy of the deputy now a panista, because in his record, he has several moments that have been criticized.
When the now panista was a presidential candidate, in 2012, for the Nueva Alianza party, he was pointed out that he had looked inappropriately at an aedecan of the then Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), now the National Electoral Institute (INE), while he was on his back.
In addition, the former presidential candidate in 2012 is also very active on social networks, where he has sparked controversy more than once over his statements, sometimes described as conservative, sexist, transphobic and classist.
For example, just last January, Quadri posted a message on his Twitter account stating that without Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico would be an emerging power. “If Mexico did not have to shoulder Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas, it would be a country of medium development and emerging power...”
That comment was also heavily criticized, and even the governor of Oaxaca, Alejandro Murat, demanded a public apology. Faced with this, Quadri replied that the apology must be given by “bad governments”.
Earlier, in 2017, the panista claimed, in a series of tweets, that people in street situations who take refuge around the Monument to the Revolution, in the Tabacalera neighborhood, were violent and threatened children and women. “Monument to the Revolution turned into a den of violent homeless people who threaten children and women. And the CDMX and Cuauhtémoc government?” , he said on his social network.
He described these people as “malvivants, destitute and drug addicts” in another of the tweets. “Malvivientes, destitute and drug addicts invade and degrade public space and attack citizens in Republic Square and Monument to the Revolution. Cuauhtémoc delegation, abandoned by Morena. That was the change...”
“Altar of the Fatherland and emblematic public space, Monument to the Revolution and Plaza de la República, appropriated by the indigent and converted into a pigsty. Civic sacrilege. Nobody cares...”, he added, all the messages accompanied by images of people on the street who take refuge in the foothills of the Monument to the Revolution.
On April 10, 2018, before the presidential elections in which the now President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), a member of the party he founded, Moreno Regeneración Nacional (Morena), was victorious, Quadri also made some comments that were not very welcome by many.
On that occasion, he asked those who were presidential candidates to commit to banning reggaeton, a modern music genre. “Candidates must commit to banning reggaeton if they become president...”, he said.
Also last January, Gabriel Quadri was released from a live program on CNN en Español, after giving his opinion on transsexuals, a fact that was described by the host as hate speech.
And the fact is that the former presidential candidate was invited together with the Morenist deputy Salma Luévano, to give her opinion on the attacks, against transgender people in Mexico. During the program, Quadri tried to defend his stance, however, the host catalogued his arguments as hate speech. “If you come here to spread your hate speech this is not the channel, go to another channel,” said the host.
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