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Barriers, Opportunities (Benefits), and Competition 91

B A R R IER S, O P P O R TUNITIE S ( B ENEF I T S) ,
A N D C O M P E TITI O N

Making such revolutionary and deep-seated societal changes is an ambitious proj-
ect with a host of obstacles, ranging from political to religious to economic. With
Mexico’s political climate in transition, both barriers and opportunities for change
exist. The business-friendly PAN has responded to pressure from diverse interests
to tackle discrimination that contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS. Then-
president Vicente Fox signed a constitutional amendment in 2001 that outlawed
discrimination, including bias based on sexuality. Since 2003, federal agencies in
Mexico have been required to fund tolerance campaigns (Campbell, 2005).
But early socialization that establishes inequitable gender roles as the norm
may encourage risky behaviors among both young men and women. Instituto Pro-
mundo’s research indicates gender inequity in relationships—when men have
greater power than women—can also lead to sexual coercion and physical vio-
lence, circumstances in which HIV-protective behaviors are impossible to initi-
ate and maintain (Pulerwitz, Barker, Segundo, & Nascimento, 2006, p. 4).
For both audiences, the tenets
of machismo—if practiced by
young men and accepted by
young women—dictate lifelong
patterns that distort personal re-
lationships and endanger the
health of future generations. (See
Figure 4-2.)
The benefits of reversing
these traditional beliefs are self-
evident, but timing is critical
because attitudes formed in ado-
lescence often crystallize into life-
long behavior patterns. Marcos
Nascimento, now Promundo co-
director, noted that international
research with teens indicates
“viewing women as sexual ob- FIGURE 4-2 Peer educators facilitate conversations
jects, using coercion to obtain about traditional male attitudes as part of Programa
sex, and viewing sex from a Hombres in Mexico. For many young men, these
performance-oriented perspec- workshops are the first time they have discussed
tive” may become established the costs of machismo.
behavior unless the pattern is Photo courtesy of Salud y Género