Buenos Aires (Argentina) (AFP) – Thousands of people participated on Saturday in Buenos Aires in the 35th edition of the LGBT+ Pride March to celebrate sexual diversity and denounce an increase in homophobic attacks on the eve of the arrival of Pope Leo XIV to the Argentine capital.

First modification: 07/11/2026 - 22:43

"When hate advances, pride in the streets is resistance," was the motto of the march that gathered a crowd on the central 9 de Julio Avenue in Buenos Aires and culminated in an artistic show in front of the National Congress in a route altered by security measures for the papal visit.

This year the march repudiated the attack against transgender sex workers in the Palermo neighborhood in the early hours of November 1 after they were beaten by more than fifty men on bicycles who later uploaded images to social networks. So far no arrests.

"Pride to power, hate to hell" could be read on a huge sign carried by protesters in a colorful caravan of floats where slogans abounded asking for "more love and less hate."

"No one can tell you how to live your sexuality, we say enough to so much intolerance, they marginalize us, mistreat us, hate us and we respond with love, with projects, with family and with this party," Jesica Pintos, a 51-year-old anesthesiologist who came "to celebrate freedom" with his wife Luciana Burgos and their 5-year-old son, told AFP.

During 2025, 227 cases of hate crimes were reported, understood as attacks and assaults motivated by discrimination based on sexual orientation. Eighty of them ended in murder, a peak since the series began in 2016, according to the National LGBT+ Hate Crimes Observatory.

The most affected group is transgender women, according to the latest published report.

The visit of Leo XIV was present in this year's many costumes with religious allegories. On the city's masts, papal flags coexisted with multicolored fans carried by protesters.

"Honestly, it doesn't mean much to me because I'm not very religious," Brandon González, 27, told AFP about the pope's visit.

However, he recalled that the late Pope Francis "was quite empathetic towards the LGBT+ community."

The visit of Leo

For Romina Zavalla, a 49-year-old protester, the new pope must be given time.

"Look, I think that each one is as he is, and if he becomes as open-minded as the previous Pope, it would be great. Because that is progress," he added.

© 2026 AFP

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