Name: Florencia Aguirre

Identity: Bisexual

Candidacy: Mercosur Parliament

Political party: Workers' Party in the Left and Workers' Front - Unity

List: 71

Position on the list: Alternate

Why does a person from a diverse sexual/cultural background have to be in Congress or the Legislature?

Representativeness isn't simply about belonging to the community. It's important that they be a working person, from the neighborhoods or rural communities; that they understand the struggle not only in terms of being able to present a bill, get it debated and passed—we've seen that with other laws—but also in terms of sustaining the struggle of organizations in the streets and alongside health and education workers, because inequality stems from the state budget; if there are cuts, there is exclusion.

When did you decide to run for office and why?

In our organization, we hold plenary sessions of members and supporters, and we choose candidates in assemblies and plenary sessions. We are a party of workers and fighters for rights, not of leaders with egocentric or aspirational tendencies.

How do you think hatred can be combated through politics?

"Hate," defined as the aggressive, criminalizing, and prejudiced expression of a sector that continues to hold privileges and power, is frequently reproduced by mass media, thus gaining traction among popular sectors. The women's and LGBTQ+ movements have won battles for meaning in the media, but there is a major obstacle at all levels of education with the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), which has been ignored for over a decade.

Did you think of any strategies to respond to the smear campaigns and disinformation against LGBT people in the media?

You can ask for corrections and sanctions, but it's useless if comprehensive sex education isn't taught in schools, but rather if popular educational campaigns aren't implemented.

How do we prevent a decline in rights?

Through organization and struggle in the streets, we are reclaiming the unions from the union bureaucracy. Struggle is the only path to winning and defending our rights. We've been taught that the state belongs to all of us. They lie to us. The governments that run the state are making us pay a debt that only a few of Macri's cronies profited from. Our struggle is to ensure that the capitalists pay the IMF debt. The cuts to healthcare, education, wages, and pensions are already a step backward in our rights.

What is the first project you are going to present?

We need to unite the struggles of Latin American environmental, peasant, Indigenous, and workers' organizations to discuss the productive matrix and our place as a region in the world. Fifteen years of plunder: they came for the gold and continue to plunder with mega-mining and agribusiness. It is an exclusionary, predatory model that threatens our survival. We must establish regional councils that make the decisions regarding production and sustainability for our people.

Recommendation

A film, song, book, or cultural experience that politically influenced you?

Mafalda and Lisa Simpson have been my lifelong role models. I almost exclusively watch animated series; I always recommend Tuca and Bertie. As a child, I loved witches thanks to Sabrina and her aunts. Unfortunately, I also consumed a lot of romantic dramas like those by Cris Morena (Chiquititas, Rebelde Way, and Floricienta), and now I find the content appalling.