The State is responsible. Justice for Pamela Cobos and the victims of the Lesbodian attack in Barracas

It happened on Sunday night. The terrible news was known of the intentional fire caused by a man in the Barracas neighborhood (City of Bunos Aires), who threw a Molotov cocktail into the room of two couples of lesbian women. Mercedes and Pamela had been transferred to the Hospital del Quemado. The other two victims are admitted to the Penna Hospital: Andrea Amarante has 75% of her body burned and Sofía Castroriglos, with burns and out of danger. Pamela died as a result of the attack. According to several sources and neighbors, the man had already had problems with women due to his sexual orientation.

Organizations of the movement women and people LGTTTBIQ+the colective Not one less y neighborhood assemblies, repudiated this misogynistic and lesbian crime. The event generated a state of alert and a response is expected in the streets.

This attack occurs at the same time as the hate speeches that the president encourages. Javier Miley and his allies like Agustín Laje y Nicolas Marquez.

Against what the ruling party calls “gender ideology”, they respond with a pro-capitalist and misogynistic ideology, which denies violence against women and diversity, inequality and even denies the very existence of the identities of the dissident collective. So They seek to legitimize, from the State apparatus, a patriarchal reaction to all the rights won by the fighting movements, and promote impunity in the face of sexist violence..

This Monday, in the forum of Milken InstitutePresident Javier Miley He expressed his rejection of what they call “cultural Marxism”:

“A culture where (…) the private person is persecuted to submit to commandments of supposed morality, on issues such as gender, racial issues or environmental issues, which often end up threatening directly against freedom and the ability of companies to generate wealth”.

And a few days ago, Nicolás Márquez, far-right intellectual who gives direction to the Governmentsaid in an interview on Radio Con Vos, that “homophobia does not exist”. There he himself described homosexuality as something “insane.” He said: “When The State promotes, encourages and finances homosexualityas it has done until the appearance of Javier Milei on the scene, is encouraging self-destructive behavior”.

But for Pamela Cobos and the other three female victims, The destructive behavior came from outside, in the form of an attack on their lives. The Government is responsible for a double movement: on the one hand it denies this violence and, at the same time, it encourages it..

At the same time, Javier Miley and their allies, attack the Comprehensive Sexual Education (ESI)they seek to close the INADI, people are fired from the transvestite-trans-non-binary job quota in all public agencies, and dump the worst consequences of the adjustment on women and diversity who see their living and housing conditions drastically worsen.

Meanwhile, senior officials such as the chancellor Diana Mondino compares homosexuality to having liceand the vice president Victoria Villarruel rejects marriage between people of the same gender.

This way, They give impunity and allow reactionary sectors of society to be emboldenedwho feel enabled by the pathologizing and criminalizing discourses that are poured out from the State, the churches and different libertarian references.

This is how the socialist feminist leader described it Andrea D’Atrilegislator elected by the PTS-FITU and founder of Bread and Roseson social network X: Misogyny, lesbophobia and other forms of violence happen daily. But when hate speech is enabled as “opinions” equal to others or becomes state ideology, that violence is socially legitimized. Justice for the victims of the Barracas attack.

Misogyny, lesbophobia and other forms of violence happen daily. But when hate speech is enabled as “opinions” equal to others or becomes a state ideology, that violence is socially legitimized. Justice for the victims of the attack in Barracas!

— Andrea D’Atri 🍉✊🏾 (@andreadatri) May 7, 2024

Femicides, crimes and acts of violence occur government after government. Emblematic cases such as that of Pepa Gaitán In 2010, the Be of Jesus In 2016, the disappearance of Tehuel de la Torre in 2021 or the transfemicide of Zoe López García in 2023, have not only been repudiated, but also fought with actions in the streets.

With great mobilizations, the rights for the group of women and diversity were won and defended. Without going any further, the 8M massively expressed rejection of the attempts to repeal the right to Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy, among other attacks by the Government. This mobilization of thousands and thousands, showed great potential to confront the Government massively in the streets. This is the path that needs to be deepened in the face of war that the government of Javier Milei declares both to the women’s movement, of diversity, and to the great majorities.

Different groups and movements of the feminist and LGTTTBIQ+ collective began to meet and a mobilization is expected to demand Justice for Pamela Cobos and the fellow victims of this lesbian attack. In the coming days, a response is expected in the streets.

It is necessary that the flags of the feminist and diversity movement be displayed in the streets, and be present in the struggles of the people as a whole who face the Government’s anti-popular policies. The attack is transversal, the best response is unity in organization and fight.