On August 7, 2026 C.E., Fabiana Banzer and Scarlett Rocha became the first same-sex couple to have a civil marriage officially recorded in Bolivia. Bolivia’s civic registry service, SERECI, registered their marriage in Santa Cruz de la Sierra — a legally distinct milestone from the civil union registrations Bolivia had previously permitted, and one that arrived only after nearly four years of persistent legal effort.
At a glance
- Same-sex marriage in Bolivia: Banzer and Rocha first applied to marry on October 12, 2022 C.E. Recognition required a lengthy administrative process and ultimately two constitutional injunctions, filed after the civic registry service SERECI repeatedly refused the application, with support from LGBTQ+ rights organization IGUAL Bolivia.
- Civil marriage vs. free union: Bolivia had previously allowed same-sex free-union registrations — most notably for David Aruquipa and Guido Montaño in December 2020 C.E. A civil marriage carries stronger legal standing and is a separate status under Bolivian law.
- Constitutional barrier: Article 63 of Bolivia’s Constitution still defines marriage as “a union between a woman and a man.” This ruling authorizes only this couple’s marriage — no nationwide legal change has occurred.
The fight behind the milestone
Banzer described the journey in plain terms: “Scar and I have been together for more than four years. It makes me very happy to announce to our family and friends that after a legal fight of 3 years and 10 months we have finally been able to access civil marriage as two women.”
That fight ran from their initial application in October 2022 C.E. to the August 2026 C.E. registration — nearly four years of administrative procedures and court challenges. IGUAL Bolivia, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, supported Banzer and Rocha throughout, navigating a legal system without a clear path for same-sex couples seeking civil marriage.
The victory is part of what some advocates are calling a historical continuity. David Aruquipa, one half of the couple whose 2020 C.E. free-union registration was a prior landmark, said the new marriage should be understood as “a historical continuity: from the first recognized union to the first civil marriage.” That framing matters — each step has required individual couples to push through legal barriers that no legislation has yet resolved.
What this means — and what it doesn’t
It is important to be precise about scope. Bolivia has not legalized same-sex marriage. Article 63 of the constitution remains unchanged. What Banzer and Rocha secured was an individual court authorization — two constitutional injunctions that applied specifically to them. Other same-sex couples in Bolivia do not automatically gain the same access.
That said, constitutional injunctions set precedent. Legal advocates suggest the ruling could open the door to similar challenges by other couples, potentially building case-by-case pressure for broader reform. This is one of many LGBTQ+ rights wins happening across the world, often through exactly this kind of individual legal action that shifts what courts and registries are willing to do. The path is real but slow, and its outcome is not guaranteed.
Where Bolivia stands in South America
Bolivia sits in a mixed regional picture. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay all recognize same-sex marriage nationwide. Bolivia, alongside Peru, Paraguay, and Venezuela, does not — at least not through general legislation.
That regional gap is part of what makes the Santa Cruz registration significant as a signal, even if its direct legal reach is narrow. South America has seen substantial movement on LGBTQ+ rights over the past two decades, driven by a combination of constitutional courts, legislative action, and — as in Bolivia — individual couples willing to spend years in legal proceedings to secure recognition.
Coverage of LGBTQ+ rights in Bolivia has sometimes blurred the line between free unions and civil marriages. They are not the same. The 2020 C.E. milestone involved a free union; the August 2026 C.E. milestone is a civil marriage. The distinction matters legally and symbolically — it is the difference between a recognized partnership and a recognized marriage under Bolivian civil law.
A decade of incremental change
Bolivia’s movement toward LGBTQ+ legal recognition has moved through courts, not legislatures. The 2020 C.E. free-union registration for Aruquipa and Montaño required its own years of litigation. The 2026 C.E. civil marriage for Banzer and Rocha required nearly four more. Each case has expanded what is legally possible in Bolivia, one constitutional challenge at a time.
Elsewhere in the region, courts have played a similar role. Ukraine’s courts have grappled with same-sex family recognition under wartime conditions, and E.U. courts have pushed member states toward broader recognition. In each case, legal systems that were not designed to include same-sex couples have been asked — often by individual plaintiffs — to extend their reach. Bolivia’s story fits that pattern.
For Banzer and Rocha, the record is now official. Their marriage is registered. And the question of whether other same-sex couples in Bolivia will have a clearer path to the same recognition remains open — likely to be answered, as it has been so far, through the courts.
Read more
For more on this story, see: LGBTQ Nation
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Ukraine’s courts take up same-sex family recognition
- E.U. court ruling pushes member states on same-sex marriage recognition
- The Good News for Humankind archive on LGBTQ+ rights
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