by The human rights defense organization Human Rights Watch warned this Thursday that some first signs from the new government of Javier Milei have been “worrying” and mentioned above all the regulation of demonstrations and the intention to “govern by decree.”
The organization, which is based in the United States and which investigates and reports human rights violations in the world, published its annual report on countries and in the Argentine chapter (which closed in December 2023) it included accusations against the government of Alberto Fernández for the prolonged economic crisis that “caused high levels of inflation and a strong devaluation of its currency in 2023, increased poverty and affected the realization of economic and social rights,” they stated.
He also pointed out the impetus for the impeachment process of Supreme Court judges in Congress, “politically motivated” by Kirchnerism and the “use of hostile rhetoric against the judiciary.” Furthermore, he criticized that “Congress has not appointed an attorney general, an ombudsman and a Supreme Court justice for years, key figures in the protection of human rights.”
Since Milei took office on December 10, his management was not included in this report. But Juanita Goebertus, director for the Americas of Human Rights Watch, told Clarín how they perceive the first steps of the Libertad Avanza leader in La Rosada.
“President Javier Milei won the elections in a country mired in an economic crisis with a serious institutional deterioration that accentuated the government of Alberto Fernández. During the campaign, he worried us that Milei minimized the dictatorship’s crimes against humanity, questioned climate change, and criticized the decriminalization of abortion. As we did during Kirchnerism and the government of Mauricio Macri, we are monitoring the situation and will denounce the human rights violations and attacks on the rule of law that we documented,” he said.
And he added: “The first signs of Milei’s presidency have been worrying. We are analyzing the recent regulation on demonstrations, which excessively restricts the right to peaceful protest. Of course, no one can be forced to protest and protest is not an absolute right that allows, for example, making it impossible for citizens to access health services or work. But protesting in the streets is a fundamental act of democracy that cannot be prohibited in all circumstances. So much so that many of those who are in government today have surely participated in protests in the streets when the government was of a different political nature.”
“We are also concerned that Milei is attempting to govern by decree, inaugurating his mandate with a massive ‘decree of necessity and urgency’ and a broad request for delegated powers for four years. These are practices that his predecessors had already carried out, but that Milei is noticeably expanding, taking advantage of the poor regulation on the decrees of necessity and urgency that promoted Cristina Kirchner as senator and probably of the abusive political trial against all the members of the Supreme Court who impulse. former president Alberto Fernández,” she added.
The official stated that “regional experience, from Fujimori to Maduro, shows us that excessive concentration of power in the executive can be dangerous for democracy. Those who vote for Milei, in many cases understandably tired of the economic development of Argentine democracy, must keep in mind that, if they support him governing by decree now, another government may come later that tries to impose exactly opposite ideas for the same reason. via”.
