Mexico's President Condemns LGBT+ Hate Crimes After Emilio Zapanta Painting Outrage

Mexico's President López Obrador on Wednesday condemned the hate crimes against the LGBT+ community following the outrage that sparked over the controversial painting depicting Emiliano Zapata as gay, according to a report by Reuters.

This is the first time the president has made public comments on issues concerning the LGBT+ community. LGBT+ activists has often put López Obrador in the hot seat after teaming up with a far-right religious party during his election campaign.

The said painting on display at the Fine Arts Palace is the work of Mexican artist Fabian Chairez, titled La Revolución. In the said painting, Zapata is portrayed nude atop an aroused white stallion, flashing a seductive pose wearing nothing but a pair of black heels, a pink sombrero, and a ribbon bearing the red, white, and green which are colors of Mexico's flag wrapped around his torso.

This prompted some 100 individuals led by Zapata's descendants to protest at the museum for its removal which was countered by members of LGBT+ rights groups. This resulted to a scuffle between the two parties. It wasn't long that videos of the rumble circulated on social media appearing to show physical attacks on the members of the LGBT+ group by people expressing homophobic and intolerant insults.

This was confirmed on Tuesday by the Culture Ministry who was appointed by the president to find solutions to the protest of Zapata's family. He said late, at least two people were injured, particularly from the LGBT+ group.

Asked about the incident, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called for respect and tolerance.

"There shouldn't be hate crimes, I condemn it with all my soul, we don't accept that," he said in a press statement. "We have to be respectful, not just tolerant, be respectful of all expressions, of thought, of sexual diversity."

The president, however, did not clarify if the painting would be removed.

Earlier this year, the Mexican president declared 2019 the 'Year of Zapata,' commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Mexican revolutionizer's death in 1919, according to a report by Latin Post. To celebrate this, various exhibition of works presenting alternative takes on the Mexican Revolution including Chairez's painting, has been staged throughout Mexico City.

Previously, Jorge Zapata Gonzalez, Zapata's grandson said the painting should be removed or their family would sue the museum.

"We are not going to allow this," said Gonzalez. "For us as relatives, this denigrates the figure of our general - depicting him as gay.".

On the other hand, there are people who believe that the artwork presented an opportunity to reflect on the diversity and the relationship between femininity and masculinity that the author proposes, considering Zapata's libertarian spirit.

According to an article published in EFE, the report "Extreme Violence: The Murders of LGBT People in Mexico," by the civil organization Letra S, reveals that the number of hate crime victims among the LGBT+ community rose to 473 from January 2013 to December 2018. This was during the administration of former President Enrique Peña Nieto.

The same report claims that since President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office on December 1, 2018, 28 people of the LGBT community have been slain.