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The electoral platforms of the presidential candidates in Argentina present few, if any, proposals specifically aimed at the LGBTIQ+ community. The exception is the Left Front, which lists three specific policies and is the only one that mentions guaranteeing legal abortion. The candidate from La Libertad Avanza, meanwhile, plans to eliminate mandatory Comprehensive Sex Education.

general elections will be held on October 22nd . Voters will elect a president and vice president, 130 members of parliament nationwide, and 24 senators across 8 provinces. They will also elect 19 Mercosur parliamentarians for the national district and 24 for the regional district.

This article compiles the main proposals on gender and diversity from the five parties competing for the presidency of the nation.

Union for the Fatherland

The current Minister of Economy and presidential candidate for Union for the Fatherland, Sergio Massa, called in his electoral platform for building “a broad national agreement and a new majority” because “no one is safe alone.” This agreement included everyone from political forces and universities to students, young people, and diverse groups.

Regarding gender policies, the candidate did not directly address the LGBTIQ+ community. He called for "the implementation of a comprehensive care policy" and focused on the creation of daycare centers. He also urged " fighting for something regulated by the National Constitution but not respected by the labor market : equal pay for equal work." In this regard, he asserted: " We must close the 23% wage gap where women earn less than men."

She also called for "defending the pension moratorium" because "7 out of 10 beneficiaries are women who are victims of a labor market that expelled them, who could not contribute because they dedicated themselves to caregiving tasks."

In the past, when the Gender Identity Law was voted on in the Chamber of Deputies in 2011, its vice-presidential candidate, Agustín Rossi, then head of the Front for Victory bloc, stated: “I want to acknowledge all the organizations of the gay, trans, and lesbian community. You did a lot for the equal marriage law, and knowing you, I know that from that very day you set out to achieve this gender identity law, in which we have taken an important step today.”

Freedom Advances

The platform of La Libertad Avanza (LLA), whose presidential candidate is Javier Milei, proposes eliminating mandatory Comprehensive Sex Education at all levels of education. Its health proposals also include “protecting the child from conception.”

This is in line with statements made to the media by both Milei and vice presidential candidate Victoria Villarruel. In an interview with Alejandro Fantino on the Neura Media program , the presidential candidate said he was "against" abortion because "it is against the right to life." He also warned that he would "at least hold a plebiscite" in reference to the voluntary termination of pregnancy law, passed in 2020. In an interview with Marcelo Bonelli on Todo Noticias, Milei stated that both he and Villarruel identify as "pro-life." He added: "It is murder in the womb of the mother."

For his part, Villarruel said during the vice-presidential candidates' debate that "Comprehensive Sex Education must be based on biological content." He also positioned himself against same-sex marriage in an interview with Luis Novaresio. In it, he said that unions between people of the same sex were already "guaranteed with civil unions." The candidate for mayor of Buenos Aires, Ramiro Marra, also joined in the attacks against the LGBT+ community. In a tweet, he listed a series of proposals, including: "fewer LGBT events in cultural centers."

At the book launch of The Libertarian's Path , Milei asserted that if he takes office, he will eliminate the Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity . "I'm not going to apologize for having a penis. I have no reason to feel ashamed of being a white, blond, blue-eyed man.  I'm not going to concede anything to cultural Marxism. With this, they know that the Ministry of Women... clue, because the only equality that matters is equality before the law," he said.

Finally, the presidential candidate also positioned himself against social justice . After learning the results of the primary elections, he told the crowd in their bunker: “We are facing the end of the caste model, that model based on that atrocity that says where there is a need, a right is born. But it forgets that someone has to pay for that right, the ultimate expression of which is that aberration called social justice.”

Together for Change

The proposals of Patricia Bullrich , presidential candidate for Juntos por el Cambio, make no mention of sexual diversity. Regarding gender issues, she focuses on gender-based violence against women. In this sense, she says there is “a historical debt owed to women” who “cannot live a dignified, safe, and fulfilling life.” She also acknowledges as “challenges” the “unequal distribution of caregiving responsibilities and low participation in the labor market.”

As policies, she proposes implementing an accessible, integrated, and federal reporting system. She states that "false reports will be punished" and would promote increased penalties for those who violate protection orders by amending Article 239 of the National Penal Code. A registry of violators would also be created.

Furthermore, she proposed promoting policies to improve women's participation in the workforce. She says she will create an incentive system for companies that implement extended leave programs, as well as protocols for gender-based violence, lactation rooms, childcare spaces, flexible work arrangements, and increased participation of women in leadership positions.

She also maintains that they will provide “strong support to women entrepreneurs.” This would be done through technical assistance, resources, and support to facilitate women's access to credit and business opportunities. Finally, she proposes the creation of a training and recognition system for caregiving skills.

The candidate said that if elected she would close the Ministry of Women of the Nation and return to the National Council of Women .

When it came time to vote on laws seeking to expand the rights of sexual minorities, she voted in favor of same-sex marriage. Regarding the Gender Identity Law, she opposed articles 5 and 11, which allow minors to change their gender with parental consent. Her vice-presidential candidate, Luis Alfonso Petri, voted against the law on the voluntary termination of pregnancy.

Left Front

On platform , proposals related to women and diverse groups are led by the creation of a "National Emergency Plan against Gender Violence." This includes "increased gender-focused budgets; the creation of shelters; subsidies, paid leave, and relocation assistance for all who need it." It also includes "housing loans; and free and immediate access to interdisciplinary teams."

Furthermore, it proposes a “comprehensive sex education (CSE) that is secular and scientific.” “Enough of the institutional arbitrariness that prevents access to CSE,” the document states. During the presidential candidates' debate Bregman affirmed: “We are going to defend mandatory Comprehensive Sex Education because it has helped identify numerous cases of child and adolescent abuse. And also to respect sexual diversity.”

The platform also envisions the provision of free contraception and the effective implementation of the Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy (IVE) law.

She also advocates for compliance with the Gender Identity Law, the trans and travesti employment quota , the Law on Legal Interruption of Pregnancy (ILE), and “all the rights that have been won.” She added, “We continue to demand that they search for Tehuel de la Torre.”

Finally, he proposes “equal pay for equal work”.

During the debate on the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy (IVE) law in the Chamber of Deputies, Nicolás del Caño, the FIT's vice-presidential candidate, voted in favor. 

We do for our country

The platform of Juan Schiaretti , the current governor of the province of Córdoba, proposes the creation of a National Integrated Care System. This would be implemented from a perspective that seeks to "humanize" care. This would imply "committing to more compassionate and person-centered care, supporting minorities, and integrating gender and sexual diversity perspectives."

In this sense, it establishes the need to recognize care work within the formal economy and to "generate the specific conditions to strengthen the essential role that women play."

In the section of his platform titled “A policy that ensures the integrity, rights, and opportunities of women and diverse groups,” the presidential candidate proposes the creation of early childhood care centers. As an example, he mentions the “ Sala Cuna model ,” implemented in Córdoba, which aims to “encourage employment and/or educational attainment for mothers in vulnerable situations.”

It also proposes "compensation policies", such as tax relief or financing of services such as daycare centers or kindergartens, "additional salary compensation and the extension of maternity/paternity leave".

Finally, the implementation of policies that promote the creation of quality jobs for women and diverse groups is planned. Also included is a national program for technical retraining to facilitate their entry into the workforce or improve the quality of their employment.