The Argentine government will ban the use of gender-neutral language in national public institutions, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said on Tuesday. 

“You already know the details,” Adorni said. “The ‘e’, the ‘@,’ the ‘x’ will not be allowed and the unnecessary inclusion of the feminine in public administration documents will be avoided.”

In Spanish, all nouns, adjectives, articles, and pronouns have a gender, and the universal is masculine by default. The masculine form usually ends in “o,” while the feminine usually ends in “a.” Thus, the masculine todos (everybody) applies to groups of men and groups of mixed gender. The feminine todas is only used if the whole group is female.

To avoid equating the masculine with the universal, some people use an @, an x, or an e at the end of words. The gender-neutral version of todos becomes tod@s, todxs, or todes. Others use both the feminine and masculine: todos y todas. 

The demand for gender-neutral language is prioritized by feminist, queer and nonbinary groups, who point out that the gender-binary language and the generic masculine erase their existence.

During the Alberto Fernández presidency, various state institutions adopted gender-neutral language. Fernández, whose child is nonbinary, sometimes used gender-neutral language such as argentine in interviews.

The Royal Academy of the Spanish Language (RAE) does not support gender-neutral language, as it does not consider the generic masculine to be a problem for gender equality. However, critics say the academy’s stance is too conservative. Asked about people who disagree with the RAE’s recommendations, Adorni said that the government would not wade into the debate.

“We believe that politics has used gender perspectives for profit,” he said.

In a country known in recent years for feminist organizing such as the #NiUnaMenos movement and victories such as the 2020 legalization of abortion, Milei has consistently adopted anti-feminist positions. When he took power, he shut down the Women, Genders, and Diversity Ministry established by the Fernández administration, and he has said he views abortion as aggravated homicide. 

In early February, deputies from Milei’s La Libertad Avanza coalition presented a bill to overturn the legalization of abortion, although the deputy who signed the bill filed it of her own initiative.

Deputy Lilia Lemoine, a close Milei ally, also sparked controversy on the campaign trail after stating during an interview that pregnant women should be required to tell the father within two weeks so he can decide whether he wants to take responsibility for the child or not.

On Friday, Defense Ministry Luis Petri announced that he had banned gender-neutral language in the Armed Forces. He signed a resolution establishing that failure to comply with the new rules would result in unspecified “punishments.”