President Javier Milei's government has announced it will ban gender-inclusive language across Argentina's Armed Forces.
The purpose of the ban was to "eliminate incorrect language use which can lead to misinterpretation... affecting the execution of orders and the conduct of military operations," claimed a resolution published on the Defence Ministry's X account.
The new rules, signed by Defence Minister Luis Petri and issued retrospectively to include last Friday, warns that those violating the rules could face sanctions.
Petri's portfolio will launch a dissemination campaign detailing the prohibition of the use of inclusive language, and will implement training sessions to outline the new code for military personnel.
So-called inclusive language was never officially approved in the military, but in 2020 then-defence minister Agustín Rossi said the government would not disregard "cultural changes in gender relations."
This led to such unofficial distinctions as "soldado" for male members of the military and "soldada" for female ones, in line with the Spanish language rule of attaching a gender to every noun – with words ending in "o" generally masculine and in "a" feminine.
Words like "sargenta" or "caba" for sergeants and corporals are also not permitted.
There has been a recent trend in Spanish-speaking countries towards more gender inclusive language, for example in the use of plural nouns which are masculine even if a group is composed of mixed genders – for example, "amigos" ("friends") can sometimes be referred to as "amig@s" or "amigxs."
The new government directive states that in the military, Spanish must be used "according to the rules fixed by the Royal Spanish Academy and the regulations and manuals in force in the Armed Forces."
"Communications in the field of National Defence must be brief, clear and concise in accordance with what is established by the corresponding military regulations," it argued.
Milei, a far-right libertarian who has describes himself as an "anarcho-capitalist," holds conservative stances on issues such as abortion and climate change.
He has railed against so-called "gender ideology," a term loosely used by reactionary conservatives worldwide to oppose same-sex social rights, abortion and transgender rights; he calls them a form of "indoctrination" and "cultural Marxism."
His government has since downgraded Argentina's national anti-discrimination agency, INADI, as part of Milei's drive to slim down the state. The administration initially claimed it would shutter the body, but its work will be assumed into the Justice Ministry instead.
– TIMES/AFP
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