A proposed landmark law in Spain permitting people 16 years and older the right to change their gender and their identity documents without undergoing hormone therapy has engulfed politics in the country, triggering aggressive pressure campaigns from CitizenGo, a pro-family and anti-LGBTQ group based in Madrid that has transformed right-wing populism in the past decade by forging an alliance with U.S., Canadian, and European ultra-conservative groups. 

Spain’s parliament is expected to discuss amendments to the law in the upcoming weeks. 

The legislation, which has sparked political controversy, echoes years of debate over transgender rights in Spain. “That transphobic orange bus, it was pretty horrible,” recalls Eric Dopazo, when in the winter of 2017 an “anti-transgender bus” took to the streets of Spain.

The bus first appeared in Madrid, decorated with a slogan claiming that the only gender is the one assigned at birth. “It’s biology. Boys are boys, girls are girls. You can’t change sex,” the bus announced. For Dopazo, a Youtuber from the northern Spanish region of Galicia who describes himself as a “Friendly Trans Man,” the bus was the most obnoxious stunt yet from conservative groups attempting to spread an anti-trans message.