‘Much more than a march’ – Pride gets political in Milei era

For more than three decades, Argentines have gathered in the centre of Buenos Aires to celebrate love and diversity at the annual Pride March. But this year’s festivities – the first since President Javier Milei took office last December – look set to have a more political edge than in recent years. 

Campaigners and activists are drawing attention to hostile rhetoric from Milei administration officials towards the LGBT+ community and highlighting fierce cutbacks to programmes that support minorities.

This year’s incarnation of Pride, campaigners say, is “much more than a march.” 

“Without a doubt, this year the LGBTQI+ Pride March is much more than the march of a sexually diverse collective. It is a march of democratic society in Argentina,” national deputy Esteban Paulón said in comments to the Times.

Paulón, of the Partido Socialista, said the community would not “resign itself to the current government’s attack on public policies and rights
conquered.”

Since taking office last December, the Milei government has downgraded the Women, Gender & Diversity Ministry, closed the INADI anti-discrimination agency and banned the use of gender-inclusive language in the military. 

Officials have condemned “gender ideology,” while the President has called same-sex rights and transgender rights a form of “cultural Marxism.”

Earlier this year, Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona was criticised after he said the government “rejected the diversity of sexual identities that do not align with biology,” branding them “subjective
fabrications.”

The remarks were condemned by rights campaigners.

“We are deeply concerned that these narratives are being produced and endorsed by officials, which deepens a breeding ground for hate crimes and the continuum of violence experienced by LGBTI+ people,” warned Amnesty International Argentina in a statement to the Times.

The NGO also highlighted “the weakening of public policies related to LGBTI+ people, including policies to prevent and address gender-based violence.”

“This is the first time since 1987 that there is no specialised national agency for the protection and prevention of gender-based violence, in addition to the definitive closure of the INADI anti-discrimination watchdog,” said Mariela Belski, Amnesty’s Executive Director in Argentina.

Joyous and political

This Saturday, November 2, will be the 33rd Pride March in Argentina. Thousands will march from the Plaza de Mayo to Congress in Buenos Aires to celebrate freedom, love, diversity and human rights. 

Alongside the joy, however, there will be a feeling of defiance and protest. That sentiment can be seen in the official event slogans: “There is no freedom without rights and public policies”; “There is no freedom with austerity and repression”; and the demand for a new anti-discrimination law and protection for the trans community.

Paulón, 46, is sure of the path that most Argentines want. This is a society “that wants to continue building a plural country, a diverse society,” said the lower house lawmaker.

María Rachid, the President of the Federación Argentina LGBT+, has been attending Pride for as long as she remembers. She can attest to the climate of the march this year, and what it means for the community as a whole.

“We have a new national government that has cut all public policies regarding diversity and has closed all areas of public policy related to diversity,” the 49-year-old said in an interview.

Rachid highlighted the devastating closure of the INADI watchdog, an institute where she once served as its second-in-command.

“Organisations representing diversity and individuals in our community have nowhere to turn in situations of discrimination. It is important for the entire community and society as a whole to participate in the march on Saturday to express our concern and condemnation,” said the veteran rights campaigner. 

Rachid also noted the recent rise of hate crimes in Buenos Aires City against people from the LGBT+ community. She worries the country is regressing socially. 

Milei’s rhetoric “brings together very minority sectors of Argentine society who have always opposed our rights” and has “empowered” ultra-conservative sectors, allowing them to “express themselves in a violent and discriminatory manner towards the LGBT+ community,” she warned.  

Funding cut

The Pride March encompasses 600 organisations in total, with over one million people involved, making it the largest platform for expression for the LGBT+ community in Argentina, Rachid explained.

She expects a large turnout. “There are a lot of communicators, journalists, political figures, artists, and cultural workers who have expressed that they will come to this march to publicly demonstrate their support for diversity and rights,” she said.

However, for the first time in decades, the Milei government has cut all national state funding for the event.

“This year marks the first time in the entire history of the march that the national government has decided to withdraw all its support from the march and will not contribute or collaborate,” said the campaigner, who said private companies and several embassies had stepped in to make up the shortfall.

All this is a big shift from the nation’s historically progressive position on LGBT+ rights. “Argentina is one of the leading countries in terms of diversity, inclusion, and promotion of human rights,” said Paulón. “As the first country to approve equal marriage [in Latin America], it is also a pioneer with the Gender Identity Law that recognises gender self-perception.”

The Milei administration “represents a very big challenge,” he admitted, describing it was “a challenge not only for the organisations, but for the entire Argentine civil society.”

Challenges, however, are there to be met, Esteban explained defiantly: “We are going to gather strength and build ourselves for what is coming ahead of us.”