Buenos Aires, January 20 (NA) -- The Pride and Struggle Front, composed of organizations representing the LGBT community in Argentina, has called on President Javier Milei to retract his 'homophobic' remarks made at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos. This call comes on the first anniversary of that speech, with an eye on his upcoming participation in the international event. According to the official communiqué accessed by the Argentine News Agency, Ricardo Vallarino, president of the organization 100% Diversity and Rights, stated: 'The president insulted and lied, enabling social and institutional violence against the LGBT+ community. That is why we demand that he retract his statements in the same forum where he made them as head of state.' Vallarino also affirmed that 'his hate speech outraged the entire Argentine people, as demonstrated by the historic protest march on February 1st,' referring to the Federal March of Antifascist and Antiracist Pride, which filled Plaza de Mayo and replicated in various cities across the country and abroad. 'We reiterate that hate speeches kill,' he emphasized. In the same vein, the leader stated that 'the Argentine citizenship wants to live in peace, with equality, freedom, and prosperity,' and proposed 'a great democratic agreement against hate speeches to stop and isolate neofascist violence.' The demand comes one year after Milei's speech in Davos, where he called to 'eradicate' what he defined as a supposed 'cancer' when referring to LGBT+ people, feminists, left-wing activists, and various expressions of political and ideological dissent, which generated broad social and political repudiation. From the Pride and Struggle Front, they warned that after that mobilization, the Government 'deepened the path of attacks on human rights' by signing Decrees of Necessity and Urgency 61 and 62/25, which advance on rights enshrined in the Gender Identity Law, including the prohibition of access to hormonal therapies for transgender and travesti minors under 18, even with parental consent. 'When a president speaks at a global forum like Davos, they have a reinforced responsibility. Therefore, it is necessary that he retracts unfounded statements that promote stigmatization, disinformation, and hate speeches against LGBTI+ people,' stated Andrea Rivas, president of Diverse Families of Argentina (AFDA). From the Argentine Homosexual Community (CHA), its Secretary María Laura Olivier affirmed that Milei and former US President Donald Trump share 'a reactionary view on sexuality and human rights,' and warned that 'both sustain and promote hate speeches against the LGBT+ community, with special viciousness towards transgender and travesti people.' 'Diversity is not a threat: it is a democratic value that enriches society and challenges us to build bonds based on dignity, equality, and respect,' expressed Maximiliano Lois, president of the Argentine Gay and Lesbian Integration Society (SIGLA), who stressed the need to strengthen collective organization in the face of the advance of hate speeches. Meanwhile, from MUNAY, an association of families of trans, travesti, and non-binary children and adolescents, they warned that 'the recent government decisions generate fear, anguish, and uncertainty in families and put the life and well-being' of that population at risk, and demanded that Parliament reject the decrees signed by the Executive Branch. Finally, the organizations called for an assembly in Parque Lezama and confirmed the holding of the second Federal March of Antifascist and Antiracist Pride, scheduled for next February 7th, on the first anniversary of the 1F mobilization.
