Argentina agency blasted for calling disabled ‘retarded’
Decree classifies people with mental disabilities according to their IQ.
Daily TribuneDecree classifies people with mental disabilities according to their IQ.
BUENOS AIRES (AFP) — Argentina’s state disability agency apologized Thursday following a furor over the use of the terms “idiot,” “imbecile” and “mentally retarded” to describe people with disabilities.
The uproar was caused by a text published as part of libertarian President Javier Milei’s clampdown on disability fraud.
The government, which is reviewing disability payments received by around a million Argentines, last month issued a decree setting out the parameters of mental and physical disabilities.
An annex to the decree classified people with mental disabilities according to their IQ as follows: “0-30 (idiot),” “30-50 (imbecile),” “50-60 (severely mentally retarded,” “60-70 (moderately mentally retarded),” and “70-90 (slightly mentally retarded).”
Each category also included a description of which functions the person can perform.
Disability support groups and human rights groups protested the terminology and demanded that the National Disabilities Agency scrap the classification.
The groups accused the agency of using “very violent terminology” which “reinforces stereotypes and historical discrimination.”
On Thursday, the agency admitted an “error” in using “obsolete terminology” and that it would modify the text to use universally accepted terms to describe levels of disability.
The government has launched a campaign to vet around a million disability payment recipients to ensure their claims are valid.
A first wave of around 300,000 registered letters summoning recipients for a medical check-up have been sent.
Those who fail to show up for their appointments risk having their benefits — a little over 261.000 pesos ($245) — cut.