The government of Javier Milei will ban inclusive language and “everything that has to do with the gender perspective” in the Argentine public administration, as announced by presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni this Tuesday. “You cannot use the letter -e, the at sign and the -xy [se va a] Avoid unnecessary inclusion of female gender in all documents,” the official said. He later added: “Gender perspectives have also been used as a political bargain.” The decision is in line with the far-right president’s rejection of gender equality policies, which he sees as part of the “indoctrination” of “cultural Marxism” and which he wants to combat .
The announcement was made after the Cabinet meeting this Tuesday, hours after the Ministry of Defense issued a decree banning the use of the -e morpheme as a replacement for the letters -ay -o in the communications of the agency, armed forces and decentralized organizations. The text published in the Official Journal points out that “the correct use of the Spanish language” is required, since “any deviation or denaturation” of the language “may lead to a false interpretation of what one wishes to provide or order”.
“It just extends this decision to the rest of the authorities,” said Adorni, who, in response to a question from a journalist during the government's daily news conference, gave no further details about the announcement, pointing out that “there are some.” “Sectors, who feel unaccounted for” in Spanish. “The language that covers all areas is Spanish. “It is a debate in which we will not participate because we believe that gender perspectives have also been abused as a political bargain,” concluded the presidential spokesman.
Adorni also did not explain what measures the government envisages when it warns that it will eliminate “everything that has to do with the gender perspective.” Put this way, it could mean setbacks in the achievements of the feminist movement in Argentina, for example in areas such as justice or labor.
For the Argentine president, who opposes the feminist movement, “gender ideology” and inclusive language only destroy “the values of society.” Together with other leaders of the global far right, such as former US President Donald Trump or the leader of the ultra-Spanish Vox party, Santiago Abascal, the Argentine president has placed himself at the forefront of a “fight against the left”. , i.e. against the most progressive values. After arriving at Casa Rosada, Milei dissolved the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity and shortly after her party La Libertad Avanza introduced a bill in Congress to criminalize abortion in Argentina, where it has been legal since 2020.
The commitment to women's rights and the LGBTIQ+ collective is now a new reason to take to the streets next March 8th. From different sectors, after the government's announcement, they recalled that Argentina respects “the commitments made in international human rights treaties” and that the abolition of the gender perspective means “the destruction of respect for diversity” and calls into question “many current laws”. “[Es] “Another nonsense that distracts us from the main issue,” said María José Lubertino, who chaired the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism between 2006 and 2009, online about the announcement, which she sees as a “distraction” from critical economic policies and social situation of the country.
Make gender politics visible in Spanish
No one expected Milei to address his ministers at the Cabinet meeting this Tuesday or speak to MPs at the opening of legislative sessions next Friday, but the decision to ban inclusive language in public administration goes beyond them not to take over, and marks a further distance with the previous government of the Peronist Alberto Fernández, who defended his commitment and managed to implement it. “It's not a language problem, it's a problem that everyone feels challenged.” Everyone feels challenged. “Is that well said?” said the former president, father of a non-binary person, at an official event.
The so-called inclusive language, which involves the use of -eu-other morphemes as a means of making gender politics visible in Spanish, gained notoriety in Argentina during demonstrations for the legalization of abortion in 2018. It began in secondary schools and spread, driven by feminist movements and in favor of sexual diversity, especially by young people and members of the LGBTIQ+ community.
The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) has rejected its implementation and considers that the use of the grammatical masculine “does not imply sexist discrimination”. “The use of the @ or the letters 'e' and 'x' as supposed inclusive gender characteristics is alien to the morphology of Spanish and, moreover, unnecessary,” he defends the RAE. Some scholars point out that changes in language have taken centuries and that this form of expression is only “the reflection of a socio-political position,” as the president of the Argentine Academy of Literature, Alicia Zorrilla, expressed to EL COUNTRY in 2019.
Despite opposition from academia, the use of inclusive language has increased and been integrated into government agencies, universities and international organizations. For example, a guide developed by the United Nations notes that language “determines cultural and social attitudes”: “Using gender-inclusive language is an extremely important way to promote gender equality.” “Gender and combating gender bias. “ If Milei's decision goes forward, this option will be rejected by the authorities of the Argentine state.
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