Argentina Enabling Environment Baseline Snapshot

Argentine civil society has an outstanding history of participation in democracy building following the last civil-military dictatorship of 1976-1983 and has been particularly active in the defence of human rights and fundamental civic freedoms. This trajectory of active participation presents the backdrop to the enabling environment that has recently been put under strain since the inauguration of the government of La Libertad Avanza in December 2023. 

Since then, the enabling environment for civil society in Argentina has deteriorated significantly. During his electoral campaign, President Milei promoted a narrative of discrediting multilateral organisations such as the United Nations and its Agenda 2030, as well as political parties, unions, social movements and civil society organisations (CSOs). Once in power, this trend translated into the elimination of key institutions such as the Ministry of Women and Diversities, thereby denying the legitimacy of the human rights and gender equality agendas.

The new government has deliberately avoided establishing mechanisms for dialogue with civil society, dismantling institutional channels that, in various forms, have been functioning since the return to democracy. This rupture directly impacts on civil society's meaningful participation in public affairs, one of the pillars of the enabling environment. 

At the same time, the enabling environment was seriously affected by the promotion of repressive policies, such as the Security Protocol (Res. 943/2023), which enables the development of monitoring and control systems for demonstrators and the registration of organisations, violating the National Intelligence Law and seriously affecting the right to peaceful assembly, a fundamental freedom of civil society. 

To this must be added the approval of regressive reforms through DNU 70/2023 and the subsequent "Basic Law" (an initiative consisting of 238 articles, including issues such as the declaration of a state of emergency, extraordinary temporary powers for the executive branch, state reform, labour reform, energy and the Large Investment Incentive Regime -RIGI-) which, among other effects, deepen economic inequality. The resulting context of social crisis has led to an increase in protests and a growing militarisation of public space, reinforcing an environment of hostility and risk for CSOs. 

In short, the context is characterised by a combination of factors that seriously compromise the enabling environment for civil society in Argentina: lack of dialogue, restrictions on freedom of expression and protest, repression, concentration of power and weakening of rights-based public policies.