Dominicans Freak Out Over Obama’s Gay Ambassador Pick
Opposition to President Obama’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic reached a fever pitch this week as religious organizers stage a “Lunes Negro” or Black Monday protest against James “Wally” Brewster. If confirmed, Brewster will be the first openly gay ambassador to the country, a prospect that is not going over well with ...
Opposition to President Obama's nominee for U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic reached a fever pitch this week as religious organizers stage a "Lunes Negro" or Black Monday protest against James "Wally" Brewster.
If confirmed, Brewster will be the first openly gay ambassador to the country, a prospect that is not going over well with some segments of this conservative Christian country of 9 million people. Local reports indicate that church leaders are pressuring the government to reject Brewster’s nomination and calling on the faithful to dress in black on Monday in solidarity against him.
Praise Christian Church Pastor Sauford Medrano is quoted in Diario Libre as saying that Brewster could cause “the U.S. promotion of gender beliefs in the country.” That supposedly violates a general education law in the country that “all the Dominican education system is based on Christian principles.”
In a statement to The Cable, Monica Trasandes, director of Spanish Language Media at GLAAD, defended the president’s pick. “We stand with LGBT advocates in the Dominican Republic, who are calling on leaders to quit categorizing their country’s population as homophobic,” she said. “We hope that James Brewster will help educate those still adversely affected by homophobia and applaud the work of LGBT advocates in the Dominican Republic.”
When news of opposition to Brewster first began, the Dominican embassy in Washington told The Cable that the country supports the president’s pick. “The Dominican Republic is a democracy with a vibrant media and a wide diversity of opinions on every conceivable topic,” the statement read. “However, it is the position of the Government of the Dominican Republic that a person´s sexual preference is strictly a personal matter and it looks forward to working constructively with Mr. Brewster in his official capacity once his nomination is approved by the U.S. Senate.”
In June, the AP spoke with Catholic and evangelical church leaders who opposed the nomination. “If he arrives, he’ll suffer and will be forced to leave,” Vicar Pablo Cedano, told the AP. He said the pick showed “a lack of respect, of consideration, that they send us that kind of person as ambassador.” Rev. Cristobal Cardozo, leader of the Dominican Evangelical Fraternity, said the appointment was offensive. “It’s an insult to good Dominican customs,” he said.
Brewster was a fundraiser for Obama and currently works at the Chicago consulting firm SB&K.
More from Foreign Policy


Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America
The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.


The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense
If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.


Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War
Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.


How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests
And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.