Social Movements and the Constitutional Court: Legal Recognition of the Rights of Same-Sex Couples in Colombia

Abstract

This article reconstructs the mobilization process carried out by the organization Colombia Diversa in order to gain recognition in the Colombian Constitutional Court for the rights of same-sex couples. In particular, it identifies three factors that contributed to this change in the law. First, the organization reframed their demands using the language of constitutional rights. Second, the existence of an activist organization brought together a large number of resources and used a particular set of protest actions. Third, a structure of political opportunities was generated by the existence of a progressive court, an undemocratic congress, and a public that was inclined to support the demands of the activists. These three factors allowed the activists to channel their demands for rights into a progressive judicial decision. Throughout, this article argues for two intimately linked points: the first is proof of the centrality of a rights-based discourse in Colombian political activism, and the second is the strong role that political activism played in defining constitutional rights within the Court.

Keywords: Colombia, Constitutional Court, Rights of same-sex couples, Social movements, Homosexuality