Millions of people in Buenos Aires and across Argentina participated in marches against President Javier Milei in response to his controversial comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The Buenos Aires march, led by LGBTQ, women’s and human rights organizations in Argentina, shaped up to be one of the largest demonstrations against Milei since he became president in December 2023. The mobilization is a direct response to Milei’s disparaging comments about feminism, LGBTQ rights, and other progressive movements.
Milei called “wokism” and “gender ideology” harmful during his Jan. 23 speech at the World Economic Forum, even comparing them to pedophilia. These statements sparked outrage across Argentina with protesters demanding the defense of human rights and equality.
María Rachid, president of the Argentine LGBT+ Federation, told the Washington Blade on Sunday “the march was massive, a strong message to President Milei putting a limit to hatred, discrimination and violence.”
“Argentine society built the values of respect for diversity, equality, and true freedom and yesterday it came out to defend them with massive demonstrations throughout the country and in many cities around the world,” said Rachid. “We are proud of what we were able to build because although they want to destroy it, it is already part of the heart of Argentine society.”
The Buenos Aires march began at the National Congress and ended at the Casa Rosada, the seat of the country’s presidency. Thousands of demonstrators, many with rainbow flags and banners that read “rights are not negotiable,” expressed their strong rejection of Milei’s policies.
Gay Congressman Esteban Paulón highlighted to the Blade “the call for the march was impressive.”
“I think it exceeded any forecast, not only because of the massiveness in the City of Buenos Aires, where it is estimated more than a million people, but also because of the massiveness in the 150 cities in which it was held throughout the country,” he said. “The truth is that it was a very, very big march in Rosario, in Córdoba, in Santa Fe, in Mar del Plata, in Bariloche, in the north, in Salta.”
“There was no expectation that it would be so, so massive, beyond the one in Buenos Aires, which had had an important call, an important visibility, which had added several actors,” added Paulón.
Sofía Díaz, a transgender woman who worked as a civil servant before Milei’s administration fired her, marched in Corrientes, a city in Chaco province.
“After President Milei’s speeches in Davos, the next day we started texting each other on WhatsApp,” she said, referring to public employees at the national level. “We were really afraid of what he had said.”
Activists around the world expressed solidarity with their Argentine counterparts.
Marches took place in cities around the world — including in Santiago, Chile; Montevideo, Uruguay; Rio de Janeiro; São Paulo; Mexico City; London; Madrid; Amsterdam; Berlin; Geneva; Paris; New York; Lisbon, Portugal; and the Spanish cities of Barcelona and Granada.
The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBTQ rights group, on Feb. 1 organized a march to the Argentine Embassy. Activists delivered a letter that expressed solidarity with the LGBTQ community and repudiated Milei’s policies against it.
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