11/21/23 11/21/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we need concrete action now. we need a humanitarian cease-fire now. we need unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance now. amy: as calls grow across the globe for a ceasefire in gaza,

we look at the unprecedented toll israel's bombardment has taken on journalists. more than 50 journalists, mostly palestinians, have been killed since october 7. we will speak to the committee to protect journalists. then the acclaimed palestinian poet mosab abu toha has been detained at an israeli checkpoint in gaza. his whereabouts are unknown. he spoke to democracy now! last month. >> netanyahu on the second day asked palestinians to leave. he said, "leave now." but where do we leave, and why should we leave? we have nowhere else to go. amy: we will also speak to vermont's only congressmember democrat becca valent who has become the first jewish member of congress to call for a cease-fire in gaza. then to argentina where the far-right political outsider javier milei has been elected president.

all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the palestinian health ministry says all hospitals in northern gaza are now out of service bid repeated assaults by israeli but also medical centers. the world health organization said it was evacuating remaining patients from al-shifa, the largest hospital in the besieged palestinian territory, along with two other hospitals. hundreds of patients, many injured in israeli strikes, remain trapped medical centers which effectively have ceased functioning. a who official in geneva said it is "robbing the entire population of the north of the means to seek healthcare." there has been no let up in israel's bombing campaign. in one of the latest attacks, at

least 20 palestinians were killed when israeli forces bombed the nuseirat refugee camp in central gaza. palestinian officials say more than 13,300 palestinians have been killed by israeli strikes. over 5000 of them, children. on monday, the u.n. secretary-general marked worlds children's day, the u.n.'s annual day of action for children, for a call to stop the carnage. >> what is clear is we have had in a few weeks, thousands of children killed. so this is what matters. we are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since i am secretary-general. amy: the chairman of the gaza press house has been killed by israel's military.

belal jadallah was heading to the south of the gaza strip when he was killed by an israeli tank shell in the zeitoun neighborhood of gaza city. belal jadallah was known as the godfather of palestinian journalism. he helped train generations of reporters and welcomed foreign correspondents to the gaza strip. in northern gaza, 27-year-old digital content and podcast presenter ayat khaddura has reportedly been killed along with her family in an israeli airstrike. this is one of her last video reports. >> we are separated, of course. i and a few others remain at home while the others have evacuated. the situation is very scary, terrifying. what is happening is very difficult most god have mercy on us. amy: in southern lebanon, two journalists with the beirut-based tv channel al mayadeen have been killed in an israeli airstrike.

the network says camera operator rabih al-me'mari and correspondent farah omar were deliberately targeted by an israeli warplane after reporting on the latest israeli bombardment of south lebanon. a third civilian traveling with them was also killed in the attack. at least journalists and media 50 workers, most of the palestinian, have been killed in the region since october 7. we will have more on this story after headlines. the palestinian poet and author mosab abu toha has been detained by israeli soldiers while trying to leave the gaza strip with his family. abu toha had been heading to the southern rafah border crossing when he was abducted at an israeli military checkpoint on november 18. his family has not heard from him since. mosab abu toha is an author, columnist, teacher, and founder of the edward said library in gaza. to see our recent interview with him, visit our website

democracynow.org. we'll have more on his disappearance later in the broadcast. in jerusalem, far right members of israeli's parliament on monday got into a shouting match with family members of hostages being held by hamas in gaza. lawmakers were debating a bill to impose the death penalty on "terrorists." the bill was advanced by the party of israel's ultranationalist national security minister itamar ben-gvir, who was once convicted of racist incitement against palestinians and supporting a terrorist group. convicted in an israeli court. family members condemned the death penalty bill, saying it endangered efforts to win the release of their abducted relatives. this is udi goren, whose cousin is being held captive in gaza. >> this is incredibly disappointing because i feel that at this point when we know

that taking down hamas, we keep hearing from them, is going to take months or years and it is going to take a long time. on the other hand, the other objective is time sensitive. people are dying. we know that for sure. amy: one hostage family member yelled at ben-gvir in the knesset session, "you care more about killing arabs and saving jewish lives." meanwhile, al jazeera reports qatar-brokered talks for a deal that would see hamas release some of its hostages in exchange for a three- to five-day pause in fighting are at a critical and final stage. hamas official said they were "close to reaching a truce agreement." the white house has pushed back after the center for constitutional rights sued president biden, accusing him of failing to prevent genocide in the gaza strip. on monday, white house spokesperson john kirby called the allegations "pretty inappropriate," and he said only

hamas has genocidal intentions, israel's government. >> yes, the numbers are too high. yes, too many families are grieving. as, we urge the israelis to be careful and cautious as possible. that will not stop from the president right on down. but israel is not try to wipe the palestinian people off the map. israel is not trying to wipe gaza off the map. israel is trying to defend itself against a genocidal terroristic threat. amy: those remarks from the white house came as democratic senator jeff merkley of oregon became just the second senator to demand a cease-fire in the gaza strip, joining illinois democrat dick durbin. merkley wrote -- "by waging a war that generates a shocking level of civilian carnage rather than a targeted campaign against hamas, israel is burning through its reserves of international support. too many civilians and too many children have died, and we must value each and every child equally whether they are israeli or palestinian."

in seattle, hundreds of people blocked the main entrance of the space needle observation tower sunday in a jewish-led peaceful act of civil disobedience calling for an immediate ceasefire in gaza. protesters flew a 40-foot-tall banner that read "ceasefire now!" on the air, carried by large balloons. they're demanding washington senators patty murray and maria cantwell join growing congressional calls for a ceasefire. the action was organized by the seattle chapter of jewish voice for peace. a federal appeals panel has blocked individuals and civil rights groups such as the naacp from suing to enforce the voting rights act, granting that authority solely to the u.s. government. voting rights advocates warn that monday's 2-1 decision by the republican-appointed 8th circuit court of appeals could further erode the enforcement of the landmark 1965 law.

we getting provisions that protect black and other voters of color from racial discrimination. the majority decision was written by a judge was appointed by donald trump stop the ruling stems from a gerrymandering case in arkansas in which the state chapter of the naacp accused arkansas of restricting voting access to black citizens. sophia lin lakin, director of the aclu's voting rights project who argued the case in front of the appeals court, slammed the decision as a travesty for democracy, saying the ruling "has put the voting rights act in jeopardy, tossing aside critical protections that voters fought and died for." the ruling is expected to be challenged and could head to the u.s. supreme court. in ohio, four people were injured and left hospitalized monday evening after a man walked into a walmart in the city of beavercreek and opened fire with an assault rifle. police say the shooter then died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. it's the same walmart store where in 2014, a 22-year-old african-american man named john

crawford iii was shot and killed by a police officer after a caller phoned 911 to accuse him of brandishing a gun and pointing it at other customers. in fact, crawford had picked up an unloaded bb air rifle on a shelf. the white police officer who fatally shot john crawford was acquitted by an ohio grand jury. according to the gun violence archive, there have been over 600 mass shootings across the united states so far this year, a record pace. in sweden, labor unions are continuing their blockade against tesla in response to elon musk's electric car manufacturer's refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement for higher wages and better working conditions with its mechanics. dockworkers at dozens of swedish ports have refused to unload tesla cars from ships. meanwhile, electricians stopped repair work at tesla's charging stations. swedish postal workers have also joined the strike halting the delivery and collection of mail at all tesla sites in sweden. the strike began in late october

impacting at least 12 of tesla's service centers in sweden. this comes as the united auto workers union looks to organize tesla plants in the united states following the successful strike against the big three u.s. automakers. and in nairobi, kenya, delegates from several fossil fuel producing countries backed by a network of plastics industry trade groups have stalled talks on a global treaty to curb plastic waste. representatives from around 150 countries to the u.n.-brokered talks failed to reach an agreement after countries including saudi arabia and russia pushed for more plastic recycling rather than limits to plastic production. this is graham forbes, head of greenpeace's delegation in nairobi. >> the reality is we have only recycled about 9% of the plastic that has ever been produced. we cannot recycle our way out of this problem. what greenpeace is calling for his cutting plastic production and accelerating a reduced-based economy. we expect to create standards and accelerate reuse of the global scale.

amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by democracy now!'s juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: it is has been another devastating 24 hours for journalists in gaza and lebanon covering the 46-day israeli bombardment. the beirut-based tv channel al mayadeen has just announced two of its journalists were killed today in an israeli air strike in southern lebanon. the network says correspondent farah omar and camera operator rabih al-me'mari were deliberately targeted by an israeli warplane after reporting on the latest israeli bombardment of south lebanon. meanwhile, in northern gaza, ayat khaddura, a 27-year-old digital content and podcast presenter, has been reportedly killed along with her family in an israeli airstrike.

this is one of her last video reports. >> this may be the last video for me. today the occupation dropped phosphorus bombs in the area and through evacuation notices in the area. almost the entire area has evacuated. everyone started running madly in the streets. no one knows where they're going to or coming from. we are separated. i and a few others remain at home all the rest have evacuated. we don't know where they went. it is scary. the situation is terrifying. what is happening is difficult will stop may god have mercy on us. amy: on sunday, the head of the gaza press house was also killed by israel's military. belal jadallah was heading to southern gaza when he was killed by an israeli tank shell in the zeitoun neighborhood of gaza

city. belal was known as the godfather of palestinian journalism. he helped train generations of reporters and welcomed foreign correspondence and sponsor them when covering the gaza strip. the committee to protect journalists monday announced a grim milestone had been reached, with at least 50 journalists and media workers killed since october 7. 45 of the journalists have been palestinian. there have been three israeli journalists killed and at least three lebanese journalists killed. cpj reports 11 journalists have been injured, three are reported missing, and 18 have been arrested. according to cpj, the past month and a half has been the deadliest period for journalists covering conflict since the media group began tracking deaths over 30 years ago. we go now to philadelphia where we are joined by sherif mansour,

the middle east and north africa program coordinator for the committee to protect journalists. welcome back to democracy now! under horrific circumstances. the u.n. secretary-general says the number of civilian deaths is unparalleled and unprecedented. of course, journalists are civilians. as i woke up this morning, i got one text after another. first, the young woman and her cameraman in southern lebanon killed. about an hour after she posted a video report, she is standing in a field in southern lebanon, and she is talking about the israeli military killing civilians. she and her cameraman are then hit and killed. and then as i am learning their names, another text comes in. this young reporter in northern gaza is killed even as she says

in her report, "i fear i will die." can you talk about this latest news? and then a man you have come to know, who worked with you on the cpj report, the head of the gaza journalists association also killed in an airstrike. >> thank you, amy, for having me. i remember being on the show a little more than a month ago and saying for journalists in the region, this is a deadly time. it was the deadliest time back then, begin the deadliest month, and now the deadliest six weeks on record. i was. exaggerating. i was not speculating. the killing of belal jadalla, who helped us document this deadly pattern of journalists being killed by israeli fire

over 21 years, just in may, we made a profile of 20 journalists -- 18 were palestinians. and belal jadalla helped identify them, their families, gave us pictures. on sunday, he became a victim of this same deadly pattern when he was killed in a car. belal jadalla also provided crucial safety equipment for journalists in order to do their job safely. he open a press house for journalists to use the internet when there was no other place. this deadly pattern has existed before. it is killing more deadly per day. we are investigating the three more killings today, adding to 50 as of yesterday.

we have never seen anything like this. unprecedented. for journalists in gaza specifically, the exponential risk is possibly the most dangerous we have seen. journalists were killed in the very early stages at the entry and exit points of gaza post up in the south, the north, a crossing. since then, they were killed everywhere in between. they were killed in the south and rauf city. in khan younis where they were told it was going to be safe, they were killed. they were killed in the middle and end gaza city. they have no safe haven. they have no exit. juan: could you talk as well about the arrest of journalists in gaza and the occupied territories? also your organization has criticized as well israel for

its censorship within israel, of the press in israel. you talk about that as well? >> we have documented separately from the casualty list, which includes missing, injured, the escalation of arrests as of yesterday. 18 palestinian journalists from the west bank were arrested. many of them were put in military prosecutions. dozens of cases of censorship, cyber attacks, obstruction from coverage within the west bank and within israel. emergency legislation has now given the government for the first time the unprecedented power of shutting down international media organization, including acting

-- two journalists were killed today in lebanon, banning them. and allow the government to shield israeli journalists for up to a year. juan: here in the united states, we are getting much coverage on the commercial media of the israeli war in gaza, but it is all of u.s. journalists that are basically based in israel and there are no u.s. journalists i have seen that are actually in gaza. and those who do go in, only go in with the israeli army and under the condition that israel must review all of their videotape before hand and approve it before it can go out. i'm wondering your sense of how the american people -- what kind of story they're getting as a result of these conditions? >> these conditions put local

palestinian journalists and freelancers at the most -- they are in the front line. we have seen a dwindling number of international media and journalists within gaza over the years. right now the palestinian journalists are bearing the brunt of this risk in this heavy toll. of course, these casualties, the censorship, is coupled with communication blackouts. since the start of the war, it makes it more -- not just communication blackout. [indiscernible] it denies people in the region and worldwide of media coverage.

lifesaving formation for 2 million palestinians who are struggling to find food, clean water, and shelter right now. but millions and hundreds of millions all over the world who are following this heartbreaking conflict should try to understand it, including in u.s. amy: as he said, yet the israeli military says they cannot guarantee the lives of journalists that go into gaza. in early november, i'm just thinking back to a few weeks ago, the palestinian news agency reported there journalist was killed in an israeli strike on his home along with 11 members of his family, including his wife, son, and brother. his colleague burst into tears during a live broadcast upon learning of abu's killing. as he spoke, al bashir tore off

his helmet and protective vest labeled "press" and threw them to the ground. and then there was a split screen as he ripped off his gear saying, why do we bother wearing this if we're going to be killed anyway? they showed the anchor in the palestine news studio as she wept as he tore off his helmet and protective vest. your response to the situation and this whole issue of embedded journalism is the only way the u.s. media can get those reports inside gaza where there news reports are reviewed and gaza news journalists being killed on the ground one after another, dozens of palestinian journalists killed. >> the israeli army could not escape their responsibility under international law not to

use unwarranted, lethal force against journalists and against media facilities. it would constitute a possible war crime to do so. we have directly for the officials to reform the rules of engagement, to respect press insignia, and ensure their safeguards on civilians and journalists. we have called on the u.s. government, european allies to raise directly these issues with the israeli counterparts. we have called for the u.n. security council to include safety of journalists on the agenda of any diplomatic discussion. of course the israeli government

-- preventing information that gives them these protections under international law. we want to make sure the israeli army has well do not continue to put false narratives and smear campaigns to try and justify the killing of those journalists. amy: sherif mansour, thank you for being with us middle east , and north africa program coordinator for the committee to protect journalists. coming up, the acclaimed palestinian poet mosab abu toha has been detained at an israeli checkpoint in gaza. his whereabouts now are unknown. back in 20 seconds. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. calls all growing the globe for israel to immediately release the acclaimed palestinian poet and author mosab abu toha, who was detained by israeli soldiers -- military checkpoint in gaza while heading toward the rafah border crossing with his family. his whereabouts are unknown. his work has appeared in the new yorker, the atlantic, the progressive, and other publications. he founded the edward said

library in gaza. his first book of poetry, "things you may find hidden in my ear," won the american book award winner and was finalist for the national book critics circle award. the book was published by city lights books. in a recent essay in the new yorker, abu toha wrote -- "i sit in my temporary house in the jabalia camp, waiting for a ceasefire. i feel like i am in a cage. i'm being killed every day with my people. the only two things i can do are panic and breathe. there is no hope here." mosab abu toha appeared on democracy now! last month. >> where do we immigrate? we were born on this land. my parents were born on this land. my grandparents were born on this land. my great-grandparents were born here. but if you ask anyone in israel, most of them would tell you that their grandparents were born

somewhere else. and even i only have a palestinian passport, which is really not very helpful when i leave gaza -- if i could leave gaza. netanyahu, on the second day of the escalation, asked the palestinians in gaza to leave. he said, "leave now." but where do we leave, and why should we leave? we have nowhere else to go. amy: those were the words of the palestinian poet mosab abu toha on democracy now! in october. his whereabouts are unknown after he was detained by israeli forces at a checkpoint in gaza. we are joined now by diana buttu. she is a palestinian lawyer and former adviser to the negotiating team of the palestine liberation organization. broke the news of mosab abu toha's kidnapping. she joins us now from haifa. diana, can you talk about what you understand has happened?

>>mosab's story is like that of so many. she was seeking refuge in the refugee camp. his own home was bombed and shattered to pieces. while he was in the refugee camp, the israeli perpetrated a massacre which was 70 meters away from where he was. he twice escaped death. his son is an american born citizen. they come along with the rest of the family, finally got clearance to be able to leave rafah to go elsewhere. as they were fleeing from the heavily bombed nord of the gaza strip, they were forced to go through a checkpoint, what was supposed to be a safe passage on a road that leads from the north to the south. at that checkpoint, at that military area, he, along with hundreds of other people, were forced to raise their hands. he was forced to put his son

down on the ground, three years old, raise his hands in the air and he and hundreds of others, men and women -- this has been confirmed by his wife -- were abducted. they were not arrested, they were kidnapped by the israeli army with everyone else told to continue on. his family are still trying to get to the south. it is there a possible to get to the south. his family still has not heard from him. they have no idea of his whereabouts. we have checked with the icrc, with representatives of congress, with the state department and nobody has been able to provide us with even the simplest of answers in terms of where he is, why he has been abducted, what conditions he is being held under, and when it is he will be released. this is why so many are pushing and demanding not only for his release, but for the release of the hundreds of palestinians that israel has abducted over the course of the past seven

weeks. juan: you have commented in the past on the extent to which israel has been disseminating false information about the war. could you elaborate what has been the effects of that? >> the effect has been we now see the commercial media are looking at examining the tiny little minutia of disinformation that israel is putting out, but seem to ignore the bigger picture. the bigger picture is israel is bombing 2.2 million populated refugee camp. half of them are children. and we just keep hearing one piece of disinformation after another. we have heard them talk about the legality of bombing hospitals when anybody who has any sense of morality or notion of what is legal, what is right, knows you cannot bomb a hospital and yet rather than questioning

that, we have seen instead the commercial media going down the path of accepting these as truths. we see this also when it comes to mosab. there is somehow an allegation he has done something wrong rather than people recognizing this has been a pattern that israel has been carrying out now for quite some time, for the past seven weeks. it is been going into of ducting people and without anybody knowing where the whereabouts are. we have seen this happen with palestinian workers who had permits to be inside israel who were not only abducted but eaten with -- beaten a torture put on instagram and no one even questioning the legality, the morality of doing any of those. their problem has been they have gone down the path of somehow accepting the disinformation rather than questioning it, the

big picture of the galilee of israel bombing a large -- legality of israel bombing a large refugee camp. amy: can you explain more about how your trying to get information and attention to mosab's case right now? word is israel and hamas are close to a hostage release agreement. does this fit into that? why is it so difficult to deal with israel and palestine right now? how are you able to communicate with both? >> in terms of communication, it is near impossible. it is near impossible because the israelis a little over two weeks ago imposed a blackout on telecommunications inside the gaza strip. not only was there blackout imposed, but it has been a possible for roaming to be working. of the times i am able to reach

friends who are in the gaza strip, usually takes the entire day to reach one or two friends. communication is near impossible. in terms of getting the story of mosab out, it has been trying to connect with his family, his wife, getting information and then trying to spread it as wide as possible to people who know him, who have worked with him, his publisher, people who have published him in the past and trying to get that information going so that people recognize it isn't just the story of mosab but the story of thousands of other palestinians as well, indeed, millions of palestinians who are now trapped inside the gaza strip. it has become near impossible to reach people in gaza and it has become near impossible for them to be able to reach the most basic things like to contact an ambulance was there is an israel

i bomb, to contact people to remove the rubble, to be able to get to the hospital. all of this has been done under the cover of darkness. at the same time, we are watching this live. the fact nobody's doing anything about it speaks volumes. amy: i want to go back to mosab abu toha on democracy now! a few weeks ago. >> last night my son who is three years old was sleeping and there was a bombing in the area and he woke up and he said "who , did that?" and he said, "let it stop." i mean, that was the first time he was asking me to do that, as if i was responsible for the bombing. so i have nothing to do as a father. i have nothing to do as a neighbor or as a son. we are helpless here. we have been helpless all our lives, while the united states, unfortunately, is always stepping in to support israel.

amy: the words of the palestinian poet and author mosab abu toha speaking on democracy now! if you weeks ago. to see the whole interview, go to democracynow.org. i want to thank bal diana buttu palestinian lawyer and former , adviser to the negotiating team of the palestine liberation organization. we turn now to the growing calls for a cease-fire in gaza coming from lawmakers in washington. on monday, democratic senator jeff merkley of oregon became the second senator to demand for cease-fire, joining dick durbin of illinois. according to one count, 42 members of congress have now called for a ceasefire or cessation of hostilities in israel and occupied palestine. we are joined now by democratic congressmember becca balint of vermont. last week she became the first jewish member of congress to

call for a ceasefire. welcome back to democracy now! thank you so much for joining us. talk about why you have made this decision. you are a senator from vermont post of bernie sanders is not there yet. it you are. talk about why. >> i want to be clear with folks who are listening and watching that i wrote the op-ed to express to vermonters, really geared toward -- i should have anticipated it might get national attention but i didn't. i wrote it for vermonters. what i wanted to do was really give voice to all the things i had been feeling and thinking and wrestling with since the beginning of october. i wanted to articulate clearly for vermonters what needed to happen. i wanted to lay out that

horrific violence has to stop. hostages must be released. we have to end the suffering in gaza. palestinians and israelis deserve safety and security. i believe we need a true negotiated cease-fire to get to a two state solution. as you mentioned, both my senators here in vermont have not yet made the call. but i know in my conversations with them we want the same things. where we differ is just in the strategy that is needed to get us there. we all went to find a way to stop the violence, stop the bombing. we don't want to continue to see innocent civilians, including 70 children and babies, die -- so many children and babies, die. i felt it was important for me to clearly articulate the complexity of was holding. when we release the op-ed, i was

focused on how my constituents would feel about what i said. i did not anticipate that i was the first jewish member of congress to call specifically for a negotiated cease-fire because i know we have been saying a lot of the same things for weeks. what i do know is there are no exact words right now that will sum up the totality of what we are all thinking and feeling about the situation. but i do know we have complete agreement on an immediate cessation of hostilities, pausing the violence, ending the suffering, and trying to get to a negotiated cease-fire that will hold. juan: representative, you have said you and representative rashida tlaib haven't brought together by your people suffering and are now friends. -- have been brought together by your people suffering and are now friends. >> i appreciate the question.

the islamophobia right now is completely and totally out of control. i was disgusted by the fact colleagues are trying to go after the one palestinian-american member of congress. as i said, rashida tlaib and i became friends early on in my tenure. we were brought together i think by -- we both have big hearts. she is not a little bit like a mama bear in the caucus. she is very loving and gentle toward specifically new members like making sure we have what we needed. i was drawn to her because we are, as i said, people that have -- within our family that have endured suffering over a very long time. we are both parents to teenagers and we share the struggles of that. i don't think it is betraying a trust to say she said to me a

message last week saying what she hopes that in the future she and i will be able to walk together in a true democratic palestine and israel, both of us together as friends, as people who understand the horrific suffering that is going on right now. i have really tried to use my platform and will continue to do so to stand up against the islamophobia. also the antisemitism. we have discussed this as well. you can be critical of israel and you should be critical of israel and netanyahu and the policies and i have never shied away from that. i also am very uncomfortable in this moment by some of the outrageous antisemitism hurled at jewish members of congress, specifically progressive jewish

members of congress who are trying to do the right thing in figuring out the correct strategy going forward. rashida will always be what i call one of my heart people. amy: on the day after rashida tlaib was censured by the house of representatives, we brought on an 87-year-old holocaust survivor protesting outside the white house calling for a cease-fire. she condemned the censure of your colleague's to leave. i want to thank you very much congress member becca balint of vermont. she's the first openly lgbtq member to represent vermont in congress, the first congresswoman to represent vermont and now the first jewish member of congress to call for a cease-fire in gaza. we will link to her op-ed for the vermont digger "cease-fire

needed to stop bloodshed in israel-hamas conflict." coming up, we go to argentina where javier milei has been elected president. he has been called the trump of argentina. the first to congratulate him was president trump and brazilian president bolsonaro. back in 20 seconds. ♪ [music break]

amy: "en el pais de la libertad" by the argentine leon gieco who signed a letter protesting milei's erasure of the horrors of argentina's 1976 to 1983

right-wing dictatorship that killed over argentinians. 30,000this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we end today's show in argentina where the far right libertarian javier milei has been elected president. he has been compared to donald trump and brazil's jair bolsonaro. he won sunday's election with 56% of votes, defeating centrist peronist candidate sergio massa . milei is a climate crisis denier who has proposed banning abortion, easing restrictions on guns, and vowing to shut down argentina's central bank replacing the nation's currency with the u.s. dollar. milei has also questioned the death toll and crimes committed by the argentine military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. he spoke from buenos aires sunday night. >> argentina situation is

critical. the changes our country needs are drastic. there is no room for gradualism, for half measure. amy: we go now to buenos aires, argentina, where we are joined by two guests. franco metaza is the director of international relations for the argentine senate of the republic. and we're going to begin with you. can you talk about the significance of this victory? i mean, months ago, milei was hardly known to the general population of argentina. he became famous as he carried a chainsaw with him, would use it during his speeches. talk about the significance of that and what he represents. >> very pleased to greet you. well, what milei implies for

argentina today is uncertainty. he got to win the election with some promises. you mentioned one of them. the main one is to change our current currency for the u.s. dollar. he makes great expectation in the population. people want to earn the salary and dollars in the next month. that would be impossible. what does one of the main issues? the uncertainty and the expectation of the u.s. dollar. the other thing i want to underline is human rights. we are in a country that has. deep history -- we are in a

country that has very deep history. we could make justice for the victims and the genocide are in jail now. he wants to take them out of jail. those are the main issues we are experiencing these days here. juan: franco metaza, could you talk about why the income it coalition, centerleft coalition lost this election? what factors do you think contributed to that? also, how you expect milei will be able to govern since he doesn't have a majority in the legislature? >> well, i think we lost because of inflation. when one analyzes all the elections in argentina, it always has to do with the

economy. we have a very high inflation. what did cause that inflation? well, it begun when the imf gave us -- not us but the right wing government -- the biggest loan in the history of imf. they gave us $45 billion. that is even three times the amount they have given to ukraine to recover from the war. and we were not in a war. even the pandemic cannot happen then. it was a political loan. that makes our country to pay a lot of money per month and that is extremely difficult for our economy. we lost because of inflation

caused by the imf. the second question is interesting. he does not have majority but he has a political association with -- so they will get more senate and representatives than they have today. that is very important because he got to win the election saying he was the new -- that he came out with two people, not the old politicians, not the traditional elite. said today who is going to be his ministry of economy. it was the ministry of economy of our former president that ended with a crisis of 2001 you might remember. it was the same president of the central bank of the previous

right-wing government in 2019. amy: i want to bring verónica gago into this conversation, feminist activist and researcher at the public national council of research in argentina. author of "feminist international: how to change everything." can you talk about the man who will be the new president, milei 's discourse during his campaign, against feminism, against the lgbtq community now demanding an abortion ban in argentina? talk about it all. >> thank you for having me. i want to -- your remark about milei presents himself as a novelty but he can't get rid of the dictatorship and your liberal agenda. i think this is a very important point. milei is an opponent of abortion

rights. jenna campaign, he said he was going to call for a referendum to overturn the legalization of abortion that we achieved in 2020 during the pandemic. there is a debate whether it is possible or not. needing an act of congress. what is clear is he aims to take away the legitimacy of the right to abortion. it is also linked to the fact abortions in argentina are performed free of charge in public health institutions that milei wants to prop privatize.

this is a proposal against public education that he wents casa privatize. argentine -- a crucial action, the enactment of gender identity law in 2012, allows people to change their gender on official documents based on self-determination. milei speaks of these rights as privileges and has spoken out against the law that a job quota for trans people achieved in 2021. he speaks of an lgbtq lobby, along with the abortion rights, he talks about a sort of

socialist agenda. and he already said he would -- [indiscernible] it is linked with the human rights movement that franco was talking about. it is very dark scenario for grassroots movements, for feminist organizations. but i think also argentina is a country with very strong history of resistance, a very strong history of massive demonstrations, and i think we will confront these political programs. juan: verónica gago, could you talk as well about milei's

stance on firearms in the country and also his stance on climate change? >> he proposed to reduce gun restrictions. he argues countries as the united states that have no restrictions have much less crime. this is not true. however, it is part of making -- private matter for armed men i think. he wants to capitalize on citizen concerns about insecurity. as franco was saying, the inflation is our main problem nowadays. of course, the feeling of insecurity, that kind of inflation is producing in your daily life is respond with this idea of guns and security in very sexist, racist terms. the other thing you were saying,

he is a denialist of climate crisis. the climate crisis he says is a product of marxist ideas. he dismisses climate crisis as socialist. he rejects everything that comes from that idea. milei has an idea of deregulation of markets. that includes the necessity to deny climate change on its consequences. amy: the issue of the dirty war and his questioning of the number of people who died during the dictatorship from 1976 to 1983? >> this is completely an important issue because his vice president is a denialist of state terrorism. she would -- genocide -- she is

a defender of the military accused of crimes against humanity during the dictatorship. in doing so, both have attacked the popular consensus of human rights struggles led by the mothers and grandmothers who mobilized for adults disappeared during the dictatorship and whose ongoing resistance is part of a movement. i think this is part of becoming struggles. amy: we want to thank you both for being with us. verónica gago is a feminist activist and researcher at the public national council of research in argentina. author of "feminist international: how to change everything." and franco metaza is the director of international relations for the argentine senate of the republic. both speaking to us from buenos

aires. we will do a spanish post show and posted on our spanish website. go to democracynow.org. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]