Lesbian couple dies after man sets fire to Buenos Aires guesthouse room

Protests have erupted across Argentina in recent weeks after transgender people were fired from government jobs.

President Javier Milei’s action is in stark contrast to the progress recorded in 2023, where the government’s hiring of trans people increased by 900 percent under the trans labor quota law in force since 2021 .

Among those affected is Sofia Diaz, a “survivor” who shared her testimony with the Washington Blade hours after traveling from Chaco province to Buenos Aires to protest her dismissal.

Presentes, an LGBTQ news agency, reported that the government had fired more than 85 trans employees in less than two weeks.

Diaz, 49, has a degree in combined arts. She joins the National Social Security Administration (ANSES) in 2022 as part of the law on the integration of trans people into the workplace. The layoffs began in January and left many people uncertain and anxious. It was his turn a few days ago.

Diaz recounted in an interview how the situation became progressively more complicated, with difficulty accessing information about his employment status and eventual confirmation of layoffs via WhatsApp messages. This government action, according to Diaz, violates the law.

“We were in the office on a Friday, March 24 I think, and we have a WhatsApp group of other colleagues from all over Argentina who entered through the trans work quota and they tell us if we can get our pay slips on the intranet. “, remembers Diaz. “So I tried to get in, I couldn’t, I spoke to two other colleagues and they told me no, they couldn’t, and so we went to another person’s house. He couldn’t do it either.

“Some people have told us it could be a system error. Well, we have never been calm, let’s not say how this issue of the installation of fear and the perversion with which they do it ends, “she added. “This sadism of… inflicting pain and speculating on one’s misfortune, etc.… is something that characterizes the government of Javier Milei.”

Diaz recalled that a list of those fired from the agency began circulating from the union in the afternoon. A colleague forwarded it to him: “well, unfortunately, I was on that list too.”

“At that point, the whole weekend passed in anguish, tears and discussions with other colleagues from other places, not only trans, but everyone, everyone and everything the world,” she said. “On Monday when we went to try to get in, we couldn’t get in with the biometric, which is the thumb that we had to use every morning to get in.”

Despite the difficult time she is going through, the trans activist stressed to the Blade that she will continue to protest and will even take the government to court because her dismissal is illegal and “violates the constitution itself”.

The LGBTQ community and its allies mobilized and organized protests, emphasizing the importance of defending acquired rights and fighting discrimination and exclusion. Diaz stressed that the fight is not only for those affected today, but also for future generations, saying that the historical memory of struggles for inclusion and social justice must be preserved.

“The Argentine government therefore faces a major challenge in human and labor rights, where public pressure and social mobilization can play a decisive role in protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people,” Diaz said.