Following a federal ruling last month, married gay and lesbian couples in Mexico can access benefits administered by the Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, IMSS.)

In a landmark ruling handed down on January 29, the Second Chamber of the Mexican Supreme Court found it “discriminatory” for the agency to exclude gay couples from accessing health and pension benefits.

Plaintiffs in the case were two men who married in Mexico City in 2012 but lived in Puebla, which does not recognize marriage equality. The pair were denied enrollment in the program and one of the men died in the fall of the same year.

Jose Alberto Gomez Barroso filed a sexual discrimination complaint against the IMSS on behalf of his deceased husband.

This week, IMSS officials in Oaxaca announced that they are ready to process applications from gay couples who are married, despite the fact that such couples cannot legally marry in the state.