Argentine activists raise alarm over far-right primary victory
The results of Argentina’s primary elections on Aug. 13 have exposed a political landscape that combines significant advances in LGBTQ and intersex rights with the worrying expansion of the far-right in that country.
In an election in which only a few openly queer candidates managed to advance to the general elections on Oct. 22, the LGBTQ and intersex community is watching closely the rise of conservative tendencies that could impact their rights.
The results had an unexpected protagonist: Ultra-right wing candidate Javier Milei won the most votes. With almost 7 million votes — about 30.1 percent of the total cast — the libertarian economist leader of La Libertad Avanza capitalized upon Argentines’ discontent with leftist President Alberto Fernández’s government.
Former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, who was part of right wing President Mauricio Macri’s government, and her “Together for Change” coalition finished second with 28.3 percent of the votes.
