Media and gay marriage in Argentina

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BUENOS AIRES - The heated debate over Argentina's controversial new law permitting gay marriage once again revealed media's shortcomings and defects in their coverage of religious actors in society.

Argentina's Senate approved the law on July 15, ending a legislative process begun in 2009 and making Argentina one of just 10 countries worldwide that recognize gay marriage.

This novel project, backed firmly and persistently by groups defending the rights of homosexuals, was picked up by various political parties. The historic nature of the law prompted current deputy and former president Néstor Kirchner to cast the one and only vote he has ever cast as a legislator.

Kirchner's action is revealing, since his wife Cristina Fernández, the sitting president of the country, forced all Senators in her party to vote in favor of the law. Fernández's move prompted backlash in the party and parliament over the loss of free conscience on this issue.

Kirchner's decision should also be taken in the context of the family's conflict-prone relationship with the Roman Catholic Church, which in Argentina remains a conservative social presence. Kirchner has used the battles with the Church to strengthen his position in urban and progressive sectors.

The Catholic Church stayed out of the gay-marriage debate until June, when the matter reached the floor of the Senate. Other churches made their opposition to the law clear much earlier. The most prominent opposition came from evangelical federations, such as the Argentine Christian Alliance of Evangelical Churches (ACIERA) and the Evangelical Pentecostal Brotherhood (FECEP), which together speak for a majority of non-Catholic churches in Argentina.

Evangelicals' combative attitude, along with public protests in April and May cemented their place as the primary antagonists in the media storyline.

With few exceptions - one of which was the country's second-most influential daily La Nación - the media fell back on stereotypes and prejudices in their coverage of religious groups and especially evangelicals. The media, predictably, was favorable to the positions of the pro-gay camp.

La Nación, which published two editorials opposed to the law, has historically remained close to the conservative establishment.

Its counterpart, Página/12 is leftist and pro-Kirchner, and the paper was militant in its support for the law. The coverage in Página/12 was very negative toward the evangelical position, except for those churches and pastors that supported the law.

The most interesting and unique case is that of the highly influentia, multi-media Clarín group, which had been the nemesis of the Kirchner administration but chose to side with the presidential family on this issue.