By Lucila Sigal
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Carlos Kambourian, an Argentine pediatrician who is gay, counted himself as a supporter of President Javier Milei’s libertarian economic reforms. That was until the outspoken right-wing leader appeared to associate homosexuality with sexual abuse in a speech last month.
Milei, an economist and former media pundit who won a shock election in 2023, has received widespread plaudits from economists and investors for his tough economic measures that have helped overturn a deep fiscal deficit, revved up markets and eased triple-digit inflation.
But his strongly conservative social views are proving more divisive in a country that has blazed a trail for regional liberal reforms. He is anti-feminist, opposes abortion and has railed against the “woke agenda” – a term for a focus on racial and social justice but which is often used by conservatives to disparage progressive policies.
In a speech at Davos, he cited a story about a U.S. gay couple jailed for abusing their adopted children, saying that “in its most extreme versions, gender ideology constitutes child abuse, plain and simple. They are pedophiles.”
Gender ideology is a loose term often used by conservative groups to reference ideas that promote non-traditional views on sex and gender. Rights activists view the term as dehumanizing and an anti-LGBTQ and anti-feminist trope.
Milei’s comments sparked a strong reaction in Argentina, with thousands marching against him this month. Polls show many Argentines oppose his social views – despite crediting him for stabilizing the embattled economy.
“I cannot support a person who tells me that I am a pedophile because I fell in love with a man. I cannot tolerate that,” said Kambourian, who attended a massive march protesting Milei’s comments on February 1.
The government is pushing a new “equality before the law” bill, expected to go to Congress next month, which would remove “femicide” – murder aggravated by the victim being a woman – from the penal code and erase the non-binary identity from documents.
While Milei has faced fierce anti-austerity protests, data from local pollster Opina Argentina and consultancy Analogias show just over half of Argentines back Milei overall and his handling of the economy.
But only 40% support his views on homosexuality versus 50% against, according to Opina, and the plan to remove femicide from the penal code had 51% disapproval versus 43% in favor. At the same time, only 44% of people supported the recent march.
Milei – a close ideological ally to U.S. President Donald Trump – argues he is in favor of freedom and equality and that quotas or gender-specific laws distort that. The presidency office declined to comment further.
But in a recent interview, Milei’s Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich told Reuters, that the president’s comments had been misconstrued.
“For our government and for the president, the private life of people is a decision for each individual, everyone can have the sexual choice they want,” she said. “The president did not say that he was against homosexuals; that was distorted.”
PROTESTS AFTER COMMENTS
Earlier this month, thousands of Argentines took to the streets in Buenos Aires and beyond in “anti-fascist” protests against Milei’s comments, a march that attracted students, unions and opposition politicians, as well as the LGBTIQ+ advocates.
“We can’t allow diversity to be erased. It’s very serious that the president is speaking in these terms,” Cintia Vignot, a 42-year-old teacher, told Reuters at the march. “As a citizen, as a teacher, as a mother, I say no.”
Argentina has in recent years strengthened protections for gender violence, approved an equal marriage law, a gender identity law and eased restrictions on abortion. Milei, meanwhile, has closed various agencies to cut costs, including the Ministry of Women, Genders and Diversity and the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI).
María Rachid, president of the Argentine LGBT Federation and head of the Institute against Discrimination in the Ombudsman’s Office of Buenos Aires, said Milei’s speech risked stoking concrete acts of violence.
“Since Milei’s campaign, even before taking office, we have registered a lot of violence, discrimination and hatred towards our community,” she said. “Of course, these cases existed before. Now they occur more frequently.”
The government claims that the femicide rate in Argentina dropped 10% last year amid a broader security and anti-crime push. Women’s groups contest the claim, citing their own independent data showing a slight rise in femicides.
On the streets, many people interviewed by Reuters said Milei’s government should focus on fixing the economy and poverty, not eroding rights only recently won in the country.
“This government has done some positive macroeconomic things, but I really think on social things; it’s backwards,” said Alberto Nigro, a 65-year-old statistician.
“I think that a president has to deal with other things. Today we have more important priorities.”
(Reporting by Lucila Sigal; Editing by Adam Jourdan)
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