The massive demonstrations that took place on February 1st in various cities in Argentina represent an authentic resistance movement against President Milei’s speech at the Davos Forum. On that occasion, the Argentine leader not only fiercely attacked feminism and climate justice agendas, but went as far as stating that “gender ideology corrupts children,” associating gender and sexual orientation diversity with pedophilia.
In response to the hateful statements made by the Argentine president at the World Economic Forum, in the presence of government and business representatives from various countries, Argentinian movements linked mainly to the LGBTQIA+ community, human rights, and anti-racism have come together to organize the first Antifascist and Antiracist Pride March. The mobilization had the support of labor unions and brought thousands of people to the streets in several cities throughout the country.
With the slogans “Say no to fascism” and “Hate in the closet, love in the streets”, the impact of the Argentinian protests is not restricted to the local level, but extends to a planetary scale. It also represents an authentic global movement of resistance in defense of democracy, human rights, gender and diversity.
The protests in Argentina should be understood as a strong response to the hate speech of Milei and Trump that began to gain momentum earlier this year, following the inauguration of the American president. These speeches also involved discrimnatiry budget-cuts, persecuting political minorities, and a focus on humanitarian aid. Certainly, the February manifestations represent a clear message to patriarchal systems, to contemporary capitalism based on the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few, and to the unrestrained exploitation of natural resources and human and non-human beings.
What is interesting to highlight here is that, contrary to predictions, the narratives of hatred did not install fear – “alienation, loneliness, isolation, loss, powerlessness, and distrust” (as described by Byung-Chul-Han – but rather resistance. The Argentinian protest managed to express not only refusal, rejection, but also the affirmation of multiple, diverse, and plural identities and ways of life, attacking the heart of established power on a planetary scale.
The LGBTQIA+ movements, marrones and marronas (brown racialized people), women, youth, precarious (informal) workers, and immigrants are indeed the “new barbarians” because they have the capacity to attack the heart of the Empire and its well-oiled control mechanisms. These protest movements have both the ability for resistance and the ability to design alternative escape routes to creating new paths of life for the causes they support.
According to Foucault, where there is a power relationship, there will always be forms of resistance. “Power and resistance confront each other through multiple and changing tactics,” however, for the philosopher, resistance comes before the power that is established through the capturing processes of the movements’ potency and transformation.
The conservative wave we are facing is certainly a reaction of power to the advancement of rights (socio-environmental, racial justice, gender, and ethnicity) that have the potential to challenge the dominant political system and established social order. As Badiou states, every politics demands the existence of movement, understood as a collective action around common ideas that are neither foreseen nor regulated by the dominant power and its laws (State). It is an action that breaks with repetition and seeks new paths and ways of life.
In the current scenario marked by a regression rights and attacks on political minorities. It is essential that society recognizes the importance of resistance movements and the strategic role they play in processes of refusal and transformation. Today more than ever, increasing political and financial support for movements is essential to build new possibilities for the future. Surely, there is an urgency global, regional, and local philanthropy to come together and to mobilize resources to social and political movements. Thereby contributing to reversing backlash trends, attacks on democracy, and creating new political dynamics based on equality and recognition of diversity.
A version of this article was first published on LinkedIn.