LGBT Civil Rights Do Not Provoke Backlash: Evidence from Latin America

Abstract

Since the Civil Rights Movement, scholars have warned that pro-minority policies can
create a backlash effect in the majority. Latin America has seen dramatic advances in
LGBT rights over the last two decades, yet its population remain relatively uneducated,
rural, and religious. Thus, if backlash is a response to civil rights, it should be visible in
this context. We created the Latin American Rainbow Index - a measure of LGBT rights
in the continent by country--and combined it with individual survey responses to test
whether granting new rights had any discernible impact on attitudes. We find no
evidence of backlash or of polarization. Empirically, we provide this unique index of
LGBT rights in the continent, which may be used by other scholars to further examine
the LGBT movement in Latin America. Theoretically, we can reject the hypothesis of
backlash, even in the setting that should be most conducive to it.

Keywords: Public opinion, Public policy, LGBTQ politics, Latin American politics and policy