Guatemala's first openly gay congressman Aldo Davila was only elected two months ago and has yet to take up his seat, but death threats have already stopped him walking the streets of his own city.

"People have written messages, 'You want get to Congress on January 14th, you will die before'," said the 41-year-old veteran LGBT+ rights activist, who lives with his partner in the capital, Guatemala City. "I'm seen like the enemy from within," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

LGBT+ people already have few legal rights in socially conservative, Catholic-majority Guatemala and Davila fears the situation is getting worse, driven by the growing influence of evangelical Christian groups in politics and society. These are mostly critical of gay rights and believe marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

"They have an enormous influence, including families who have lots of power," said Davila, who argued that the growing influence of "religious fundamentalists" had stifled efforts to change attitudes to LGBT+ rights in Guatemala. Read more via Reuters