In the current political landscape, few figures generate as much debate as Isabel Díaz Ayuso. His recent defense of Israel’s participation in Eurovision, appealing to the non-politicization of culture and sport, while remembering LGTBIQ+ milestones in the Israeli history of the festival, has set off alarms in our community. Because, dear readers, how can we reconcile this speech with the cuts to trans and LGTBIQ+ rights promoted under your mandate in the Community of Madrid? The answer is clear: we cannot.
Eurovision and political hypocrisy
Ayuso’s argument about Eurovision and the presence of trans and gay artists in its history is, to say the least, a slap in the face. It is a crude attempt to whitewash a political stance that ignores international complaints of genocide in Gaza. Do we really believe that culture is a bubble unrelated to human rights violations? Activists like Mar Cambrollé are clear: the LGTBIQ+ community refuses to be instrumentalized for such purposes. Our activism is not a showcase to justify the unjustifiable.
Israel led the first trans artist to win Eurovision.
It has been between 2nd and 5th place on dozens of occasions with gay singers and songs for feminism.
Artists or athletes cannot pay for their governments or politicization. We all lose.
— Isabel Díaz Ayuso (@IdiazAyuso) September 16, 2025
The setback of rights in Madrid: an open wound
While Ayuso poses with Israeli sports teams and praises their diversity, in Madrid trans and LGTBIQ+ people have suffered a historic setback. The reform of regional laws in 2023, with the support of Vox, eliminated fundamental pillars such as gender self-determination and the protection of trans minors. We are talking about rights that took us years to achieve, and that were erased at the stroke of a pen. Although the Constitutional Court has annulled one of the most restrictive articles, the damage has already been done and the signal is clear: the defense of diversity behind closed doors does not translate into coherent policies behind closed doors.
Are we being instrumentalized? A cry of warning
The paradox is bloody. Our existence, our visibility, is used as an argument in geopolitical debates, while we are denied fundamental rights in our own home. Has the LGTBIQ+ struggle become a bargaining chip, a wild card to justify controversial positions? This situation forces us to ask ourselves: to what extent is the LGTBIQ+ collective instrumentalized in geopolitical debates?
Culture and sports are not neutral spheres. They cannot be when lives are at stake, when crimes against humanity are committed. Silence is complicit, and our community, which has fought tirelessly for its visibility and its rights, cannot and should not allow it to be used to whitewash speeches that are empty of content and loaded with contradictions.
Coherence, a non-negotiable requirement
Ayuso’s speech reveals a worrying lack of political coherence. The flag of diversity cannot be waved at the international level while rights are cut at the regional level. This dichotomy is not only unsustainable, but deeply harmful.
Dear reader, I ask you: What political cost should cuts in rights have in a democratic society? Can a government proclaim itself a defender of diversity outside its borders while limiting rights within its territory? The answer we give to these questions will define the future of our rights and the credibility of those who govern us. It’s time to demand consistency. It is time to defend tooth and nail what has cost us so much to achieve.
