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[NEWS IN PROGRESS] This Saturday, November 18th, the 26th LGBTIQ Pride March will take place in Buenos Aires. As every year, the parade and activities will be the voice of a community that has much to demand and make visible. But this year there will be no main stage for the closing event at the National Congress, the march's final destination. The March's Organizing Committee (COMO) issued a statement yesterday in which its member organizations blamed the national government for this absence, which they consider symbolically significant. Representatives of the committee explained to Presentes that the government cited the short notice for the stage request as the reason for the refusal. The organizing committee is comprised of more than 50 LGBTQ+ groups. It is open to anyone who wants to collaborate and be part of organizing the annual march; the only requirement for participation is attendance at the meetings. While this event has been managed with the Ministry of Culture for years, COMO explained that this time there was no direct contact with the Ministry. Instead, they were informed of the refusal by Diego Borisonik, Director of Comprehensive Policies on Sexual Diversity (National Secretariat of Human Rights and Cultural Pluralism). Presentes contacted that department today and is awaiting a response. [17:23, 11/16/2017] María Rachid, Secretary General of the Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Trans (FALGBT), told Presentes: “The Pride March has been organized every year for 26 years. No official who has had to do anything related to its organization can claim ignorance of this fact.” The decision to remove the stage is a political one that clearly expresses the importance that diversity policies and freedom of expression and demonstration hold for a national government that, for the first time in many years, is denying us the stage for the Pride March. She added: "This message is consistent with the security protocol they gave us for Pride Month and with the lack of funding for INADI (National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism) and the National Institute for Women, among other organizations that address the needs of groups vulnerable to discrimination and violence." For now, the schedule for the 26th Pride March will begin with the traditional Pride Fair in Plaza de Mayo, and at 4:00 PM the march will depart for Congress. A stage, arranged in conjunction with the City Government, will be set up in Plaza de Mayo. Several of the activities originally planned for the closing will take place there. The LGBTIQ Pride March is an event that has been held for almost thirty years. The enthusiasm for the march has been high since last year. In 2016, the march ended with a section of the crowd throwing eggs, bottles, and sticks at the stage in front of Congress. This year's historic closing event will be different. This was stated by the Organizing Committee of the 26th LGBTIQ Pride March in a press release. The Organizing Committee of the 26th LGBTIQ Pride March, comprised of more than 50 groups representing sexual diversity and dissent, invites everyone to participate in the rally and march this Saturday, March 18th, at 4:00 PM. The central slogan of the march is: “Stop the femicides of transvestites, transsexuals, and transgender people. Stop institutional violence. Pride to defend the rights we have won.”