Feminists 'victims of witch-hunt in Milei's ultra-right Argentina

Female journalists who write about gender issues say they are having to deal with a toxic wave of threats against them in Argentina. Some are fighting back, others are lying low and one has gone into self-imposed exile for her safety.

- Uki Gonti

"We are facing a witch-hunt from the ultra right," said the author, journalist and activist Luciana Peker, who recently left Argentina for an undisclosed location because of the weight of threats against her.

Argentina became the largest Latin American nation to legalise abortion in 2020, but its newly elected far-right libertarian president, Javier Milei, campaigned to overturn the law saying he would call a referendum on it if necessary.

The #NiUnaMenos ("not one less") movement marches that began in 2015 put Argentina at the forefront in the struggle for women's and gender rights in Latin America. But the libertarian movement that helped propel Milei to power last month appeared to target feminists when it started building its follower base in 2018.