The streets of Buenos Aires were filled with sounds of celebration and protest on Saturday as Argentinas largest Pride march rolled from the citys central Plaza de Mayo to the National Congress building.Hundreds of thousands turned out in support of the LGBTQ+ community and against right-wingArgentine President Javier Mileis public attacks on it. Related Argentinas president called all LGBTQ+ people pedophiles. Now hes getting sued. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The political backdrop for the march was a resounding victory last week for Mileis party, La Libertad Avanza (LLA), in legislative elections. Low voter turnout may have contributed to a strong showing that took pollsters and the opposition by surprise.LLA won more than 40 percent of the vote nationwide and 15 of 24 districts, providing the Trump-aligned leader with a veto-proof number of votes in the legislature. It also promised delivery of Trumps $20 billion bailout for Milei to address Argentinas ailing economy.Attendees on Saturday marched under the slogan Against hate and violence: more pride and unity, as they navigated packed downtown streets and boulevards toward the capital building. These days, with the current government, there is a lot of hate. You can see it in the streets and on social media, Nahuel Vassallo, a 22-year-old university student, told the Buenos Aires Times. Thats why standing here to defend our rights and who we are is so key.Milei has charted a course of division and blame similar to Trumps.Earlier this year, he took the international far-rights war on woke to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with a fiery speech declaring that LGBTQ+ gender ideology constitutes plain and simple child abuse.They are pedophiles, he said of the LGBTQ+ community.The mental virus of woke ideology is the great epidemic of our time that must be cured, he added. This is the cancer we need to get rid of, along with feminism, diversity, inclusion, abortion, environmentalism, and gender ideology.The rhetorical assault inspired a massive demonstration in Buenos Aires days later. Milei responded by amending the countrys Gender Identity Law by decree. The groundbreaking measure, passed in 2012, dropped requirements for any diagnosis or treatment for someone to prove their gender identity, depathologizing transgender identity.The amended legislation banned gender-affirming hormone treatments and surgeries for trans people under 18.Mileie has also dissolved the government agencies responsible for gender equality and anti-discrimination efforts.Argentina has a history of pro-LGBTQ+ legislation that is under attack by Milei and his far-right supporters. The country was the first in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage in 2012.According to thelatest report from the National Observatory on LGBT+ Hate Crimes, hate crime incidence is up 70 percent in the first six months of 2025 vs. the same period last year. Perhaps more worrying, security forces perpetrated more than half, double the number last year. Viviana Cardano, from theATE state-workers union, said the LGBT+ community had suffered under Mileis divisive politics.Today we are all here to reject the policies of this new government and the persecution that the LGBTQ+ community has been suffering since Mileis statements in Davos, she said on Saturday.Among the thousands of signs at the march, one read: There is no pride without justice.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.