Is Javier Milei a threat to LGBTQ+ rights gains in Argentina?
The election of right-wing libertarian Javier Milei as Argentina’s president has put LGBTQIA+ campaigners on alert in the country, long one of the most progressive in Latin America on gay and transgender rights.
Milei, a former TV pundit and self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” who favors looser gun controls and is staunchly anti-abortion, has drawn comparisons to former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump.
As the president-elect prepares to be sworn into office on Dec. 10, here’s what you need to know. Is Milei anti-LGBTQIA+ rights? Milei did not directly reference LGBTQIA+ rights during campaigning but said that, if elected, he would close down the ministry of women, gender and diversity, which addresses LGBTQIA+ equality, and has talked of waging a “cultural battle” against socialism and feminism.
He has also taken aim at comprehensive sex education in schools, calling it “a direct attack against the family”, comments that alarmed LGBTQIA+ campaigners who say such language is often used to sideline the community.
