The dehumanization expressed by Milei, by disregarding that feelings have no gender, galvanized the desire and right to happiness, to freely choose the partner to share life with and, if they wish, form their family,” expressed the former president Fernández de Kirchner.
For his part, senator and president of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), Martín Lousteau, stated that they marched “to prevent an authoritarian advance” and because “the permanent aggression, the stigmatization of different social groups, and intolerance towards dissent weaken democratic coexistence” and generate “a climate of violence” that needs to be stopped “urgently.”
In the same spirit, Elisa Carrió called for the demonstration “for rights, for love, for freedom, and for peace,” while Myriam Bregman did so because “we must fill the streets against all discrimination policies.”
Likewise, the president of the Civic Coalition (CC) and national deputy, Maximiliano Ferraro, stated that “thousands of citizens marched for a just cause: in favor of freedom and against hate.”
“The State has the duty to respect and guarantee the right to protest and to manifest in public space peacefully. Let us march calmly and without fear; the reasons and the heart are on our side,” he affirmed through his social networks.
National deputy for the GEN party, Margarita Stolbizer, indicated that popular mobilization “is always the best tool to defend our rights and freedoms” and that it is important to “react in time so it is not too late”: “Today we said no to violence, authoritarianism, and the regression proposed by the government,” she added.
Also present was the governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, who assured days ago that Milei’s speech in Davos “is extremely serious and unacceptable” and that “all that verbal violence has real effects.”
In response to the various manifestations rejecting his words, not only in Davos but as part of his management, the President of the Nation, through a publication from the Austrian School of Economics, claimed that the opposition “held a pro-pedophilia march” and that, despite “the operations they are conducting,” his positive image continues to rise.
None of the organizations or politicians responded to that publication and echoed the statements of the Argentine Homosexual Community (CHA): “To the fascist and racist violence of the President, we respond with a peaceful Pride March.”
The Federal March “Antifascist and Antiracist” convened yesterday by organizations from the LGTBIQ+ collective, in repudiation of President Javier Milei’s words in Davos, gathered at least 80,000 people in the City of Buenos Aires; it is estimated that around 2 million protesters were present across the country.
The provinces with the most convocations were Formosa, Corrientes, Chaco, Misiones, Salta, Jujuy, and Tucumán, followed by Córdoba, Santa Fe (Rosario), and the interior of the Province of Buenos Aires.
Regarding the demonstrations that took place abroad, they were not only due to the organization of resident Argentines (who gathered at embassies and consulates) but also out of solidarity with Argentina. In Latin America, countries such as Brazil (Florianópolis, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo), Chile (Santiago), Uruguay (Montevideo and Colonia), and Mexico (DF) participated; in Europe, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, England, and the Netherlands manifested.
In all parts of the world, the slogans were clear: they condemned fascism, racism, and homophobia and proclaimed support for diversity (in its broadest definition) and feminism, understanding that women still need to fight to preserve and uphold their rights.
In Argentina, almost the entire opposition backed the mobilization, and many of its members participated: Myriam Bregman, Axel Kicillof, Martín Lousteau, Margarita Stolbizer, Esteban Paulón, Maximiliano Ferraro, Elisa Carrió, and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, among others, expressed themselves positively and again condemned the President's words at the World Forum in Germany, where he linked homosexuality with pedophilia.
“The march yesterday, whose original call was due to the aggression and defamation of the LGTB community in the Davos speech, ended up mobilizing different sectors of society, beyond gender or diversity issues. Hopefully, there will be no safe zones for extremists or infiltrators.
