The Argentine president, Javier Milei, continues to advance his promise to reduce State agencies and personnel as part of his neoliberal economic policies. On this occasion, the president has announced the closure of the Ministry of Women, a department in charge of protection against gender violence during the previous government. This measure is in addition to the layoffs of public workers that have already been carried out, with the aim of reducing public spending and reactivating the economy of the South American country.
The closure of the Ministry of Women has been officially announced by the Argentine Ministry of Justice. As reported, this measure is part of President Javier Milei’s mandate to reduce the size of the State and eliminate politicized organizations. The Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversities had become an Undersecretariat since December 2023, but now it has been decided to permanently eliminate it. The government argues that this ministry was used for political-partisan purposes and to impose an ideological agenda, without its actions having had a significant impact on the reduction of gender violence in the country.
The Milei government has indicated that an overlap of functions was detected between the Undersecretary of Gender and other government agencies that carried out similar tasks. This implied excessive spending on maintenance of buildings and employees, which was not sustainable for the Argentine State. The decision to close the Ministry of Women is part of the Milei government’s commitment to make the State more efficient and reduce the size, while defending and protecting citizens against violence.
As a consequence of the closure of the Ministry of Women, the head of the Undersecretariat for Protection against Gender Violence, Claudia Barcia, has presented her resignation. Barcia highlighted that this measure is taken in a country where, on average, a woman dies every 35 hours due to sexist violence. Her resignation comes after the ‘Not one less’ march, in which thousands of people demanded the declaration of a ‘national emergency’ over gender violence and expressed their rejection of the government’s gender reforms.
Although the Ministry of Women has been closed, the missions established by law and international conventions will continue to be fulfilled in the National Human Rights Secretariat and in other departments of the Ministry of Justice. The Argentine government has assured that all social policies related to the protection of victims of gender violence and reparation actions will continue to be carried out in these instances.
With this measure, President Milei has reduced the number of ministries in the Argentine government. Now, only the ministries related to public order, Defense, Justice and the economy remain. Social policies have been grouped in a portfolio called ‘Human Capital’.
