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Since his arrival to the presidency in December 2023, Javier Milei has undertaken a series of measures that fragment the system of rights built up over the last decades in Argentina. His conservative administration has moved forward with decisions that severely affect the population and specifically vulnerable sectors.
In the last two weeks, Milei announced Argentina's exit from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the modification of the Gender Identity Law to restrict the access of minors to gender affirmation treatment and the elimination of the crime of femicide from the penal code. IPPF and its regional office in the Americas and the Caribbean (IPPF ACRO) join the international community and civil society organisations and activists in Argentina in their rejection of these decisions.
There is no doubt: the measures announced put Argentine citizens at serious risk. While being part of the WHO allows national health systems access to vaccines, medical supplies and disease prevention strategies, the criminalisation of femicide has been a key tool to make visible and combat gender-based violence in Argentina, a country where rates of violence against women are worrying. For its part, the Gender Identity Law has been a mechanism that brings trans and gender-diverse people the right to comprehensive health care and to live lives free of violence and discrimination.
The actions of Javier Milei and Donald Trump are not isolated events; they are part of a global strategy to stop the advancement of rights and put the lives of thousands of people at risk. A strategy that prioritises oligarchic interests while undermining the possibilities of millions to have access to basic rights such as food, education, decent housing and health. Their banner is misinformation and manipulation, which they prop up through regulatory changes at the federal level, eroding the pillars of social justice, sustainable development and equality.
Since the beginning of his administration, Milei has dismantled the rights system in Argentina, eliminating the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity and abolishing the National Plan for the Prevention of Unintended Pregnancy in Adolescence (Plan ENIA). Now, in real time, we see how both he and Trump are striding down the same path: that of regression in human rights and gender equality, not only in Argentina and the United States, but globally.
The rise of hate speech and the conservative radicalisation of public policies and regulations in Argentina and other countries in the region, now joined by the United States, are also a direct risk for human rights defenders. As FunDheg, IPPF's collaborating partner in Argentina, shares in its report Lenguas de Fuego, las llamas de odio en el tejido democrático (Tongues of Fire, the flames of hate in the democratic fabric):
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Hate speeches far from being a mere expression of opinion, become a weapon to delegitimise the struggles of women human rights defenders, portraying them as extremists, self-interested or even as enemies of society. This strategy seeks to undermine their credibility, isolate them socially and generate a climate of hostility that forces them to remain silent.
It is alarming that those who should be protecting the welfare of citizens are acting on their fears and prejudices by eroding rights and deepening structural inequalities. The removal of these guarantees disproportionately affects women, transgender children and people in vulnerable situations, weakening the social protection structure and setting a dangerous precedent for the future of human rights.
In the face of these setbacks, it is URGENT that we continue the strong and coordinated response to defend the progress made and ensure the continuity of policies that promote equity and social justice. This requires not only the active resistance of feminist organisations and movements, but also the mobilisation of governments, international cooperation and private initiative.
We need to raise our voices in all possible spaces, demand real commitments to human rights from our governments and strengthen international solidarity networks. History has shown us that no right is guaranteed unless we defend it. This is why it is time to act with determination and unity to prevent those who seek to take away our present from us from deciding our future as well.
Download the full Tongues of Fire report below:
Tongues of Fire Report
Lenguas de Fuego
