At least two of the employees of the posada where we spent the night are obviously gay. I dare to approach one of them and ask him about the situation of homosexuals in Venezuela.
In 2003 there had been a law proposal for the equality of homosexuals. This failed, now there should be another one, says my interview partner, who nevertheless first outed himself as a Chavez opponent, after a few minutes then also as a gay. Homosexuals in Venezuela are discriminated against mainly by society, not so much by the law. One is cut and mobbed by colleagues, but not necessarily dismissed.
For example, there is a professor at the Universidad Central De Venezuela (UCV) who came back 10 years ago as a woman after a stay in Spain and continues to teach despite this and also enforces this legally, because he is a lawyer. Today his name is Tamara Adrian.
Then he tells us that trannies are often harassed by the police, sometimes even raped. Venezuela is a macho country, society does not tolerate homos. I remind him of the government campaign, which includes ads in the newspaper: “Homosexuality is not a disease, but homophobia is”. He confirms that the government is making efforts to educate people and that officially there is no discrimination, but that this has not yet reached the culture of society.