Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires and in cities across the country to protest against President Javier Milei’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, during which he slammed ‘wokeism’, feminism and other progressive ideals.
Protesters were clad in rainbow-coloured flags and bore banners that read “rights are not negotiable”.
Dubbed the “Federal March of Anti-Fascist and Anti-Racist Pride”, the LGBT+ community called the protest after the speech on January 23 to combat “the economic violence, political persecution and sexual repression of Javier Milei’s government”.
Rights groups, unions and political parties also joined the protest.
In Switzerland, Mr Milei sharply criticised “sick wokeism”, social welfare, feminism, identity politics and the fight against climate change, adding that “in its most extreme versions gender ideology constitutes plain and simple child abuse”.
Protester German Paladino, an industrial engineer, said Mr Milei’s government was not taking care of public issues such as healthcare and education and was instead lashing out at people’s private life.
“I don’t know if this march can change anything, but if it could put a break on Javier Milei’s remarks which were rather aggressive,” Mr Paladino said.
In recent decades, Argentina has enshrined progressive laws consecrating sexual diversity and equal marriage rights, among others.
