ADESPROC Freedom

ADESPROC Freedom, also known as ADESPROC Libertad and formally as the Asociación de Desarrollo Social y Promoción Cultural, is a Bolivian nonprofit organization focused on LGBT rights and social development. It was established in La Paz in 1996, following a period of police repression and homophobic violence that galvanized members of Bolivia’s LGBT community. The organization’s formation was linked to the 1995 police raid on Cherry’s Bar, an LGBT refuge in La Paz, during which approximately 120 people were violently dispersed and arrested. ADESPROC emerged as a collective response to criminalization, abuse, and the lack of institutional protection experienced by LGBT people. Since its creation, the organization has worked at national level on the defense of LGBT rights, sexual and reproductive health, and political influence. Its work combines community organizing, public advocacy, human-rights documentation, educational activity, and participation in broader civil-society coalitions. The organization has also expanded its reach beyond La Paz through involvement in LGBT initiatives in other Bolivian cities, although the available reference material does not specify a complete list of offices or operating locations. ADESPROC has been involved in the development of public LGBT visibility in Bolivia. Before La Paz had an established official Pride event, it organized activities commemorating International LGBTQ Pride Day. In 2003, it worked with Mujeres Creando to organize the first La Paz Pride parade. In 2005, it organized an additional march connected with the Fourth National LGBT Congress held in La Paz. These activities placed the organization at the intersection of movement-building, public demonstration, and national LGBT political organizing. The organization’s advocacy has also included institutional partnerships and human-rights reporting. It has worked with the Higher University of San Andrés, including its Law and Political Science department, to challenge prejudice and preconceived ideas about LGBT people. Through participation in the Bolivian Community of Human Rights, ADESPROC contributes to documentation of LGBT-specific human-rights problems and advances alongside more than 50 other organizations. It is also identified as a participant in ILGALAC, the Bolivian Coalition of the LGBT Collective, the Citizen Coalition Against Torture, and Sin Violencia LGBTIQ+, among other networks. ADESPROC’s history includes exposure to risks faced by LGBT-rights activists. During the 2007 La Paz Pride event, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at participants, injuring the organization’s director, Alberto Moscoso. The incident illustrates the hostile environment in which the organization and allied groups have carried out public advocacy. No commercial product portfolio, corporate parent, public listing, or financial information is identified in the available sources. ADESPROC Freedom is best understood as the public-facing organizational identity of a Bolivian LGBT-rights and social-development nonprofit rather than as a consumer product brand.

ADESPROC Freedom was founded in La Paz in 1996 under the Spanish name Asociación de Desarrollo Social y Promoción Cultural, commonly rendered as ADESPROC Libertad. Its creation followed the 1995 police raid on Cherry’s Bar, a venue described as a refuge for members of La Paz’s LGBT community. The raid involved the violent dispersal and arrest of approximately 120 people and became a major catalyst for organized LGBT resistance to police abuse, homophobic violence, and criminalization. ADESPROC was established as a community response to those conditions. From its beginning, the organization pursued LGBT liberation and rights advocacy in Bolivia. Its work has addressed legal and political recognition, sexual and reproductive health, public education, and the participation of LGBT people in civic and political life. The available account describes the organization as having extended its activity beyond La Paz to other cities in Bolivia, giving it a national rather than purely local orientation. Public visibility and collective organizing became important parts of ADESPROC’s work. Before an official La Paz Pride event existed, the organization arranged activities to commemorate International LGBTQ Pride Day. In 2003, it partnered with Mujeres Creando to organize the first La Paz Pride parade. In 2005, it held a march connected with the Fourth National LGBT Congress, which took place in La Paz. These events helped connect Pride commemoration with broader movement coordination and political advocacy. ADESPROC has also worked through alliances with academic and civil-society institutions. In cooperation with the Higher University of San Andrés and its Law and Political Science department, it has taken part in efforts to challenge prejudice and entrenched assumptions about LGBT people. The organization is associated with ILGALAC, the Bolivian Coalition of the LGBT Collective, the Citizen Coalition Against Torture, Sin Violencia LGBTIQ+, and the Bolivian Community of Human Rights, among other networks. Through the latter, it contributes to the compilation of reports on LGBT-specific human-rights violations and progress in Bolivia with more than 50 other organizations. The organization’s public advocacy has also exposed its members to violence. During the 2007 La Paz Pride incident, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at participants and injured Alberto Moscoso, then identified as ADESPROC Freedom’s director. The incident forms part of the organization’s documented history of operating amid hostility toward LGBT public expression and activism. The available sources do not provide a complete account of later leadership, internal structure, funding, or current programs. They do, however, identify ADESPROC Freedom as an ongoing Bolivian LGBT-rights organization with national advocacy, health, documentation, educational, and movement-building roles.

• 2007

  Attack at La Paz Pride injures the organization’s director

  [1]ADESPROC Freedomen.wikipedia.org

  A Molotov cocktail thrown at La Paz Pride participants injured Alberto Moscoso, then the organization’s director.

• 2005

  March connected to the Fourth National LGBT Congress

  [1]ADESPROC Freedomen.wikipedia.org

  ADESPROC Freedom organized a march in La Paz in connection with the Fourth National LGBT Congress.

• 2003

  First La Paz Pride parade

  [1]ADESPROC Freedomen.wikipedia.org

  ADESPROC Freedom and Mujeres Creando organized the first La Paz Pride parade after earlier city activities commemorating International LGBTQ Pride Day.

• 1996

  ADESPROC Freedom is founded in La Paz

  [1]ADESPROC Freedomen.wikipedia.org

  The Asociación de Desarrollo Social y Promoción Cultural, known as ADESPROC Libertad or ADESPROC Freedom, was established to respond to violence, criminalization, and rights violations affecting LGBT people.

• 1995

  Cherry’s Bar police raid becomes a catalyst for organizing

  [1]ADESPROC Freedomen.wikipedia.org

  A police operation at Cherry’s Bar in La Paz violently dispersed and arrested approximately 120 people, prompting an organized response from members of Bolivia’s LGBT community.

A Bolivian LGBT-rights and social-development nonprofit combining community organizing, human-rights advocacy, public education, health-related work, and political participation.

• Human-rights advocacy · 1996

  LGBT rights advocacy

  ADESPROC Freedom’s central activity is advocacy for the rights and liberation of LGBT people in Bolivia. This includes participation in national coalitions, public demonstrations, political engagement, and work aimed at challenging discrimination, criminalization, and institutional prejudice. The organization’s advocacy is carried out both independently and through partnerships with other LGBT and human-rights groups.

• Health and community support

  Sexual and reproductive health initiatives

  Sexual and reproductive health is identified as one of ADESPROC Freedom’s core areas of focus. The available sources do not specify individual services, facilities, or programs, but place this work within the organization’s broader LGBT-rights and social-development mission.

• Research and reporting

  Human-rights documentation

  Through its involvement in the Bolivian Community of Human Rights, ADESPROC contributes to compiling information on LGBT-specific human-rights problems and advances in Bolivia. This work is conducted with a wider network of more than 50 organizations and supports collective reporting and advocacy.

• Community organizing

  Pride and public-visibility organizing

  ADESPROC Freedom’s Pride-related work includes early commemorative activities in La Paz, co-organizing the city’s first Pride parade in 2003, and organizing a related march during the 2005 national LGBT congress. These activities helped make LGBT identity and rights more visible in public life.

• 2005Fourth National LGBT Congress march

  La Paz · Bolivia

  ADESPROC Freedom organized a march alongside the regular Pride parade to mark the Fourth National LGBT Congress held in La Paz.

  Outcome. The march linked public Pride activity with national LGBT movement coordination.

  Source
• 2003First La Paz Pride parade

  La Paz · Bolivia

  ADESPROC Freedom worked with Mujeres Creando to organize the first La Paz Pride parade, building on earlier activities commemorating International LGBTQ Pride Day.

  Outcome. The event established an important public Pride tradition in La Paz.

  Source

1. 1ADESPROC Freedomen.wikipedia.org