Argentina - March 2024

Argentina’s new government, led by Javier Milei, has officially closed the Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity turning it into a subsecretary within a broader Ministry of “Human Capital”. The former Ministry, created in 2019, oversaw public policies in the field of gender, equality and diversity. Additionally, the government’s spokesperson has announced the prohibition of inclusive language and of the implementation of a gender perspective throughout the national public administration. The president has publicly denied the existence of a gender wage gap, which according to local calculation falls at 25 per cent. Milei’s party has also presented a plan to overturn the law that legalised abortion in Argentina in December 2020. This has sparked concerns among healthcare workers about the resurgence of unsafe abortions and inadequate abortion care. Civil society leaders and members of the “Ni una menos” feminist collective warn that Milei's rhetoric and actions signal a regressive shift, contradicting Argentina's progressive history on gender and LGBTQIA+ rights. 

Source: Pagina12 (1), Pagina 12(2) The Guardian, El Pais, Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina