Many Argentines back President Javier Milei on economy. His war on diversity is more divisive.

Polls show many Argentines oppose the president's strongly conservative social views — despite crediting him for stabilizing the embattled economy.

BUENOS AIRES — Carlos Kambourian, an Argentine pediatrician who is gay, counted himself as a supporter of President Javier Milei’s libertarian economic reforms. That was until the outspoken right-wing leader appeared to associate homosexuality with sexual abuse in a speech last month.

Milei, an economist and former media pundit who won a shock election in 2023, has received widespread plaudits from economists and investors for his tough economic measures that have helped overturn a deep fiscal deficit, revved up markets and eased triple-digit inflation.

But his strongly conservative social views are proving more divisive in a country that has blazed a trail for regional liberal reforms. He is anti-feminist, opposes abortion and has railed against the “woke agenda” — a term for a focus on racial and social justice but which is often used by conservatives to disparage progressive policies.

In a speech at Davos, he cited a story about a U.S. gay couple jailed for abusing their adopted children, saying that “in its most extreme versions, gender ideology constitutes child abuse, plain and simple. They are pedophiles.”

Gender ideology is a loose term often used by conservative groups to reference ideas that promote non-traditional views on sex and gender. Rights activists view the term as dehumanizing and an anti-LGBTQ and anti-feminist trope.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/argentina-milei-war-on-diversity-divisive-rcna191647

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