Milei's government describes people with disabilities as "idiots" and "imbeciles"
The terms were used in a resolution a month ago, but had not been denounced until now.
Buenos AiresOutrage escalated in Argentina on Thursday when the official government bulletin for January 16 went viral, specifying the requirements for a disabled person to apply for a disability pension. The text classified people with "mental retardation" according to their IQ in the categories of 'idiot', 'imbecile', and 'mentally weak' with the degrees 'profound', 'moderate' or 'mild'. It was the account of X Milei's regrets who has recovered the document and made it the subject of discussion.
The resolution in question had gone unnoticed by the press and public opinion despite the fact that, on February 3, several NGOs had filed an administrative claim with the government to have it repealed.
Today, in the midst of the controversy, the Permanent Forum for Disability, an organization that watches over the rights of people with disabilities, has taken a firm position: "the resolution not only toughens the criteria for access to non-contributory pensions, but also reincorporates obsolete terminology and" that, according to the entity, violates international agreements on this issue. And it is that, until now, Argentina has adhered to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that was approved by the United Nations in 2008.
It is not new that Milei uses words like "mongoloid", "handicapped" or "has a mental problem". The use of these terms with discriminatory intent had already been pointed out by groups and organizations that warned about the danger of a president mocking and perpetuating the stigma and exclusion of people with disabilities.
Until now, however, it had not been reflected in any legal text. In the midst of the controversy, the National Agency for Disability - the competent state body - hastened to issue a statement in which it has said that it is rectifying and that it will modify the resolution "following the current medical and regulatory standards, with the aim of guaranteeing that the terminology used is aligned with international references", and that it has been considered an "error".
