By December 2025, all of Mexico’s federal entities had legalized same-sex marriage, consolidating a process that spanned more than a decade and culminated with its approval in Guanajuato, the last state to join this guarantee of civil rights.
This progress means that the right to marry without distinction of sex or gender is fully recognized in all 31 states and Mexico City, following a journey marked by legislative reforms, court rulings, and executive decrees.
The most recent approval occurred on December 4, 2025, when the Guanajuato Congress approved by majority vote the bill allowing same-sex marriage. The vote resulted in 25 votes in favor and 9 against, which entailed replacing the terms “husband and wife” with “spouses” in the local legislation.
This amendment seeks to guarantee equality and respect within the community of life that marriage constitutes, aligning state regulations with the interpretation of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN).
During the legislative debate, Representative Sandra Alicia Pedroza Orozco of the Citizens’ Movement party underscored the significance of the reform, stating: “Loving whomever we want, regardless of their sex, must be a right for all people without any discrimination.”
In contrast, Representative Susana Bermúdez Cano of the National Action Party (PAN) expressed her disagreement, arguing that the local Civil Code already guaranteed equal treatment and that it was unnecessary to modify fundamental institutions. Representative Jorge Arturo Espadas Galván, also of the PAN, emphasized the importance of recognizing the dignity and rights of all people, although his party’s vote was divided.
The case of Guanajuato illustrates the diversity of mechanisms employed in Mexico to guarantee marriage equality. Although most states reformed their civil codes, some, such as Chihuahua and Aguascalientes, permitted these unions through court rulings or executive decrees before their legislatures enacted formal reforms.
For example, in Aguascalientes, a court ruling on April 2, 2019, compelled the state to recognize same-sex marriage, although legislative reform has not yet been implemented. In Chihuahua, same-sex marriage has been legal since June 11, 2015, by executive order, without any consolidated legislative reform.
In Quintana Roo, same-sex marriage was legalized in 2012 after it was determined that existing laws did not restrict the gender of the spouses, although the legislative reform was not enacted until September 29, 2021. Chiapas recognized this right through a court ruling on July 11, 2017, and formalized the legislative reform on December 26, 2024.
The legalization process began in Mexico City in 2010, followed by states such as Quintana Roo (2012), Coahuila (2014), and Chihuahua (2015). In recent years, states like Jalisco, Durango, and Tamaulipas approved the legislation in 2022. Social pressure, legislative work, and the participation of civil society organizations have been key to this progress.
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), same-sex marriages have shown sustained growth: in 2010, 689 such unions were registered, a figure that increased to 4,341 in 2021 (1,845 between men and 2,496 between women).
Meanwhile, heterosexual marriages decreased from 568,632 in 2010 to 448,774 in 2021. Divorces, including those of same-sex couples, have also increased, reaching 441 cases in 2021.
With the approval in Guanajuato, Mexico becomes one of the Latin American countries where same-sex marriage is a reality in all of its states, reflecting a national commitment to equality and human rights.
Source: infobae
