Alexandra Hernández Muro
Executive director,
Más Igualdad Perú
Peru was overtaken by nationwide protests last year after its Congress voted to oust popular President Martín Vizcarra from office — a move made by opposition lawmakers desperate to halt his anti-corruption and political reform campaigns. As the country heads toward new elections on April 11, at least 12 feminist and four LGBTQ candidates are running for office, placing gender equality and gay rights emphatically on the national agenda.
Alexandra Hernández Muro is also working to make her country more equal. Openly bisexual, she wants to elevate people who have often been marginalized in politics. Specifically, she hopes to change policies so that LGBTQ women have equal access to justice and the support they need.
Cultural changes do not come in just one policy change, you have to reverse years of patriarchy and visibility is one of the main ways that we can create that cultural change.
Alexandra Hernández Muro, executive director, Más Igualdad Perú
Hernández Muro frequently talks to parties and government authorities such as ministers and members of congress, advocating for progress on LGBTQ issues. “We want to engage these parties to sign an agreement to implement some of the things that we want, like marriage equality, a gender identity law, and a ban on ‘conversion therapy,’” she said.
She clearly remembers the moment that marked the start of her political career: a protest called A March for Equality in 2014. “I had never been involved in anything related to politics or activism before, so I went there and I felt that ‘wow, this is where I belong,’” Hernández Muro said. To her, it’s about trying to be the best version of herself so that someone can look up to her, especially young women and LGBTQ youths — and that’s where she finds her inspiration.
A gender focus in politics is important, she said, but so is acknowledging the diversity of women and all forms of oppression facing them. Maybe a woman is gay or transgender, maybe she is Black, or maybe she has a disability, Hernández Muro adds. “You have to see way more than just gender to do a really good job,” she said.
That includes recognizing privilege, she said, and asking questions such as: “Where do I come from? Who do I represent? How do I look?”
While Hernández Muro pushes for change within formal politics, she’s still an activist, trying to change traditional norms. “Cultural changes do not come in just one policy change. You have to reverse years of patriarchy, and visibility is one of the main ways that we can create that cultural change,” she said.