Thousands of people demonstrated this Saturday in Buenos Aires and other cities in Argentina in defense of diversity and in rejection of President Javier Milei’s statements about feminism and the LGBT community in the Davos Economic Forum. The protesters showed their disagreement with the president’s comments, which they believed were offensive and discriminatory.
In the Argentine capital, a large crowd gathered at the Plaza del Congress and marched to the Plaza de Mayo, waving flags and banners with slogans such as “CLOSET and CALABOZO Never Again” and “Not one step back.” The march, called “Federal March of Antifascist and Anti-Racist Pride LGBTQI+”, was organized by feminist and collective movements of sexual diversities. Many people participated in the march, including opposition figures, unions, and artists such as MarÃa Becerra and Lali Espósito.
The protest was one of the largest against the Milei government since the one held in April in defense of the financing of the public university. Many participants felt that the president’s words were unacceptable and that they should not be allowed to go unchallenged. Alicia González, an 18-year-old girl who participated in the march with her family, told AFP that she felt “attacked” by Milei’s words and believed that the president should “defend the rights, not limit them.”
The trigger for the demonstration was the president’s speech in Davos on January 23, where he questioned “wokism” and “radical feminism”, stating that the latter seeks “privileges.” He also criticized the concept of “femicide” and what he called “gender ideology”, whose “more extreme versions” he considered “child abuse.” Many people were offended by these comments and felt that they were an attack on their rights and freedoms.
The government’s announcement that it intends to eliminate the figure of femicide from the Criminal Code and repeal non-binary identity documents and the trans quota of 1% in the state further fueled the protests. For feminist activist Luci Cavallero, Milei’s speech “produced damage to the sensibilities of a very important part of the population” and was the catalyst for the protest. “A threshold was passed with his speech in Davos,” he said.
The Executive responded to criticism by stating that the president’s words were misrepresented and ratified his commitment to “individual freedom.” However, many people remain skeptical and believe that the president’s comments were a deliberate attempt to undermine the rights of marginalized communities. Political analysts consider that Milei will continue with his discursive strategy to strengthen his position for the mid-term elections in October.