A gay man who ran for the Argentine Senate lost in the country’s midterm elections that took place on Sunday.

Congressman Esteban Paulón, a long-time LGBTQ rights activist who has represented Santa Fe province in the country’s House of Deputies since 2023, ran to represent Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, as a member of the Movimiento de Jublidaos y Juventud or “Movement of Young People and Retirees” party.

Paulón’s party received .6 percent of the total votes in the city.

“A new space that wants to be part of the construction of a future of development, equality, and growth for Argentina was born today in Buenos Aires,” said Paulón on Monday in a social media post. 

“I want to think all of the residents of Buenos Aires who put their confidence in the citizen movement and who think another way to do politics is possible,” he added. “We are not here to pass through, we are here to continue growing. We’re convinced that Argentina needs a better approach.”

The elections took place two years after President Javier Milei took office.

Milei has enacted a series of anti-LGBTQ policies that include the closure of Argentina’s National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racism and dismissing transgender people who the previous government hired under the Trans Labor Quota Law, which set aside at least 1 percent of public sector jobs for trans people. Paulón earlier this year filed a criminal complaint against Milei after he linked the LGBTQ community to pedophilia and made other homophobic and transphobic comments during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Associated Press notes Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party on Sunday won 14 seats in the Senate and 64 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, which is the lower house of Congress. The election took place against the backdrop of the Trump-Vance administration’s promised $40 billion bailout for Argentina if Milei won.

Paulón, for his part, will remain in the Chamber of Deputies. 

LIMA, Peru — A former U.S. Agency for International Development official who participated in an LGBTQ rights conference last month in Peru said the Trump-Vance administration is adversely impacting human rights in the U.S. and around the world.

“He doesn’t want anyone to intervene with him, because he has these tendencies that are obviously antidemocratic,” said Jene Thomas, referring to President Donald Trump without specifically mentioning him by name in comments he made on Sept. 25 during the LGBTIQ+ Political Leaders from the Americas and the Caribbean Conference that took place in Lima, the Peruvian capital.

The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute co-organized the conference alongside LGBTQ advocacy groups from Peru, Colombia, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Former U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Eric Nelson is among those who also spoke.

“We were one of the leaders of the international community to intervene, for example the anti-NGO law here in Peru,” said Thomas, referring to a controversial bill that Peruvian President Dina Boluarte signed in April. “The ambassador took a very strong position against this law, and these voices have been silenced.”

“It doesn’t just affect the LGBT community,” he added.

Thomas worked at USAID for 28 years until his forced retirement on Sept. 2, the day his termination took effect.

He was mission director in Mexico, Peru, and Haiti, and held senior positions with USAID in Colombia, Pakistan, and in the Caribbean.

Expanding conservation efforts in the Yucatán Peninsula’s Selva Maya, addressing the root causes of migration from southern Mexico and Central America, and leading humanitarian efforts in Haiti are among the issues on which Thomas worked. He also worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Germany, and volunteered with the U.S. Peace Corps in Mali.

Trump-Vance administration shuttered USAID

The promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad was a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris administration’s overall foreign policy. The global LGBTQ and intersex rights movement since the Trump-Vance administration froze nearly all U.S. foreign aid has lost more than an estimated $50 million in funding. (The Lima conference took place with 10 percent of the original budget.)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio in March announced 83 percent of USAID contacts had been cancelled, and the State Department would administer the remaining programs. USAID officially shut down on July 1.

Rubio issued a waiver that allowed PEPFAR and other “life-saving humanitarian assistance” programs to continue to operate during the funding freeze. The Washington Blade has previously reported PEPFAR-funded programs in Kenya and other African countries have been forced to suspend services and even shut down because of gaps in U.S. funding. Recent reports indicate the White House plans to not fully fund the program in the upcoming fiscal year.

GLIFAA board members in February resigned in response to Trump’s sweeping “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” executive order that he signed shortly after his inauguration.

GLIFAA is an organization for LGBTQ Foreign Service members. Thomas at the conference noted efforts at the State Department when he began his career to fight for gay and lesbian Foreign Service officers.

“We fought for more than a decade to change the system and then, we eventually won,” he said. “What we are seeing now is a setback.”

Thomas in response to a question about current U.S. foreign policy that George Hale, executive director of Promsex, a Peruvian LGBTQ rights group, asked said the White House’s anti-transgender and anti-human rights policies are having an impact around the world. Thomas added China, Russia, and other anti-democratic countries will try to become more influential on the global stage.

“This example is being replicated in all parts of the world, and not just in Latin America,” said Thomas. “It is true, and it is terrible.”

Thomas referred to advocacy in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic that began in New York and San Francisco in the early 1980s as an example of how to respond to the current situation. He also found inspiration in Spanish Sen. Carla Antonelli, a trans woman who said earlier this year in a parliament speech said she and other trans people “are not going to go back to the margins.”

“What we have to do is look for other allies. We have to come together to share experiences, to look for other financing,” said Thomas. “This is obviously a big part of what went into strengthening the fight against these anti-democratic currents.”

“The good news is that they are cycles,” he added.

Under the slogan “If there are rights, let it be known,” thousands of people marched through downtown Montevideo on Sept. 26 in the 2025 Diversity March, one of the largest LGBTQ rights demonstrations in Latin America.

The mobilization took place against a political context marked by the recent return of a leftist government, led by President Yamandú Orsi, who has declared himself an ally of the community after a period in which organizations denounced setbacks.

The march, which started at Plaza Libertad and ended at Plaza 1er de Mayo, combined celebration, color, and festivity with concrete demands to move from discourse to the effective fulfillment of rights.

Nicolás Oreiro, the spokesperson for Colectivo Ovejas Negras, an Uruguayan LGBTQ rights group and the coordinator of the Diversity March, told the Washington Blade that “we are marching for the fulfillment of the quota of public sector jobs for the trans, Afro, and disabled populations; so that public and private health institutions comply with the Comprehensive Trans Law; and so that the Uruguay Social Card for trans people is a real help for one of the most vulnerable populations.” 

“We demand that the state comply with what the law says,” said Oreiro.

Oreiro praised the Orsi’s government for opening up spaces for dialogue “that were effectively denied to us” under former President Luis Lacalle Pou’s administration. Oreiro, however, was clear in warning that “there is no guarantee” if Orsi’s overtures do not translate into solid public policies.

Oreiro also noted that although Uruguay has a progressive legal framework, the lack of financial support and political will has slowed the implementation of key statutes that include the Comprehensive Law for Transgender People. 

“It’s 2025 and we’re still fighting for our lives,” said Oreiro. “The state must be the guarantor of our rights and play an active role in building a diverse, free, and inclusive society.” 

Human Rights Secretary Collette Spinetti acknowledged to the Blade the need to rebuild trust with communities. 

When asked about the steps taken in the first few months of Orsi’s government, Spinetti said that “with the aim of regaining the trust of LGBTIQ+ communities, actions are being promoted that focus on listening, dialogue, closeness, and territoriality. For example, the ‘En Cada Territorio, Más Derechos’ (‘More Rights in Every Territory’) program organizes meetings with communities, organizations, institutions, and local authorities to learn firsthand about the realities and needs of each territory.”

Spinetti also highlighted the “Territorios Diversos en Diálogo” or “Diverse Territories in Dialogue” initiative that brings together civil society, academia, international organizations, and local governments to discuss pending challenges and share best practices at the global level.

Regarding urgent steps, Spinetti stressed that “ensuring that the rights of LGBTIQ+ people translate into concrete changes in their daily lives requires a comprehensive approach.” 

“It is a priority to move forward with regulatory review, remove obstacles to the full exercise of rights, and develop awareness campaigns,” she said. “Education is key to combating hate speech and incorporating equality content throughout the education system.”

Spinetti also assured the government seeks to make sexual and gender diversity a theme in all public policies, relying on intersectionality and the training of officials.

Regarding the legacy that this administration hopes to leave, Spinetti was emphatic in pointing out that “unlike previous administrations, we are seeking a comprehensive approach that transforms people’s daily reality.” 

“We want to consolidate a genuine commitment to equality, inclusion, and respect for human rights, with a territorial presence and constant dialogue,” she said.

The march’s final proclamation also included an international demand: condemnation of the genocide that organizers say Israel has committed in the Gaza Strip, highlighting how the struggles for diversity are intertwined with global demands for social justice.

Participants say the new government that declares itself an ally for LGBTQ rights opens a window of opportunity. The main challenge, however, remains the same: how do laws and speeches translate into tangible changes in the daily lives of those who still face exclusion, violence, and discrimination.

The Diversity March sent a clear message: formal equality exists in Uruguay, but the LGBTQ movement is not willing to settle for promises. The new administration will be evaluated on its ability to transform those norms into lived realities.