Thousands of religious right-wing activists repudiated the Organization of American States (OAS) this Thursday in Lima by shouting loudly that it is “atheist, he wants you without god and without family”, during a march that rejected the “progressive agenda. “of the annual assembly of the body that deals with the rights of sexual minorities on the agenda.
“The OAS is an atheist, it wants you without god and without family”the protesters on pilgrimage to the Congress Center of the Peruvian capital shouted for almost three hours, throwing loudly slogans against abortion and “gender ideology”.
“No OAS, here you don’t decide” and “OAS stop interfering” Others were the slogans that accompanied the protest characterized by the blue scarves that the activists wore.
Protesters reject what they describe as the organization’s “progressive agenda” because the conclave has as its motto “Together against inequality and discrimination”.
“The OAS is an atheist, it is an organization that does not believe in God, they do not fear God, “said Abdiel Caico, a 58-year-old evangelical pastor of the Worldwide Missionary Movement.
🔴#THE LAST ONE The Pro-Life group of “Con Mis Hijos No Te Metas” approaches the National Theater of San Borja, where the General Assembly of the OAS is taking place, expressing its massive rejection of gender ideology and the presence of @ Almagro_OAS2015the Secretary General of the OAS. pic.twitter.com/xiVn3EM3YR
– Discover Peru (@informateperu) 6 October 2022
Citizens from Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Argentina, Costa Rica and Uruguay marched among the activists.among other countries represented in the OAS, the AFP news agency reported.
“We are here to defend the family, to defend life for the soul of America. We cannot sexualize life, communities and nations.”said the deputy from the Dominican Republic Soraya Suárez.
As a mantra, the protesters did not stop chanting “We are pro-life”, “no to abortion, listen to the OAS”, as they advanced towards the General Assembly headquarters.
“We came to make our voice known to the OAS, we want them to see that all of Latin America defends life. There is a gender ideology that they are trying to impose”, Mirtha Cocinero, from the Leadership Movement, said for her part.
Discrimination and LGTBIQ + minority rights were part of the debate in Wednesday’s session between the country’s delegates and civil society groups, in which slogans were loudly proclaimed and banners in favor of “free abortion” were raised.
🔵 In the middle of the OAS Summit! Thousands of people are mobilizing against abortion policies and gender ideologyhttps://t.co/L1cdYQNIBQ
– Daily Express (@ ExpressoPerù) 6 October 2022
“Discrimination arises from the conscience of the upper class or the emancipated class, from machismo, from the conscience of white skin. On the basis of these conscious acts, the poor, the women, the LGBTI population, the indigenous and Afro-descendant population, the little ones farmers or rural residents, “said Uruguayan Luis AlmagroSecretary General of the OAS, at the opening of the event.
This Thursday’s march is not the first sign of rejection of the organization, as a truck was parked in front of the Peru Congress building on Monday with the sign “OAS: women are defined by biology, not by ‘ideology”. “.
A few years ago, leftist movements protested the OAS, accusing it of being an instrument of the United States, a country that contributes more than 50% of its annual budget.
In Lima, the organization resumed face-to-face assemblies, after two virtual meetings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
