Sex education is a contentious topic that’s often mired in political controversy, and Argentina is no different. With conservative factions targeting sex ed globally in recent years, Argentina saw a spate of new attacks towards the ESI in 2023 — particularly on the campaign trail of the far-right coalition La Libertad Avanza (LLA). Passed in 2006, the ESI established that sex ed classes should go beyond information on sexual intercourse to tackle topics including emotional regulation and reproductive rights, with subjects evolving as is age-appropriate. “Catholic schools developed an entirely different sex ed curriculum based on that article, with some materials teaching abstinence and that homosexuality is an illness.”Now, the ESI’s most vocal detractors in 2023 hail from LLA. “It gives space to those who were already uncomfortable with the ESI,” Maylans told the Herald, citing certain families protesting that semen had been mentioned in a sixth-grade class as an example.
