MORENO, Argentina (AP) — Analía Celis, 34, lives with intellectual disability and cerebral palsy that prevents her from walking, but specialized sports therapy helped relax her tight muscles. While unable to hold traditional employment, baking activities provided her with feelings of autonomy. Though verbal communication proves difficult, art sessions with fellow participants allowed her to form connections beyond spoken language.
These vital therapeutic programs that have served as crucial support for Celis and countless others among Argentina’s estimated 5 million disabled citizens are now facing elimination under President Javier Milei’s aggressive budget-cutting approach.
Government funding to organizations delivering therapeutic and educational disability services has been suspended in recent months. Family members and advocates report that participants have lost access to carefully structured daily activities, while what was once considered a strong regional social support system has been systematically dismantled.
“I never thought we would reach this situation, selling our cars because we lack funds to pay basic utilities,” stated Martín Lucero, who serves as legal representative for the Argentine nonprofit Andar, which operates a disability day center outside Buenos Aires.
Financial pressures have forced Andar to eliminate its transportation service two months ago, leaving Celis and numerous other residents throughout the extensive Buenos Aires suburb of Moreno without access to the center they previously reached through free, specialized bus service.
“Cutting off individuals from environments essential for their growth cannot be the only answer,” Lucero stated. “This represents a deliberate policy decision.”
Following Milei’s assumption of office in late 2023, his fiscal restraint policies have established him as a symbol of worldwide conservative resistance to liberal governance. Similar to allies within the Trump administration, his government has characterized disability program reductions as components of reform efforts designed to eliminate fraud and inefficiency within federal operations.
A spokesperson for the president did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Organizations providing disability care in Argentina — encompassing day centers such as Andar along with residential facilities, specialized education, and vocational training programs — depend on income generated through billing state-operated insurance systems.
These nonprofit organizations face growing debt due to inconsistent government payments and compensation rates that fail to keep pace with extremely high inflation. Conditions deteriorated six months ago when funding completely ceased, according to service providers.
Cost reduction measures have led to widespread staff reductions, delayed employee payments, smaller meal portions, and reduced operating hours. While no official count exists of therapeutic centers forced to close, disability advocacy organizations estimate approximately 50 facilities shut down this year, particularly in Argentina’s rural areas.
“I want to ask the president to notice us, to truly observe us, to visit and meet us personally,” said Roman Pontecorvo, a 28-year-old with intellectual disability who found his love for theater at Andar. “If Andar shuts down, many of us will have nowhere to go. It will be complete disorder.”
Andar reports that roughly 30% of the 150 disabled individuals registered in its day program cannot access the facility anymore — a peaceful property featuring a soccer field, vegetable garden, and commercial-quality kitchen where participants earn monthly income through its catering business.
Mental health professionals warn that without structured programming, disabled individuals can experience rapid deterioration.
“She awakens three or four times nightly, crying that she wants to return to the farm,” explained Celis’ mother, Clementina Tabares, 74, who now skips her own doctor visits because Celis needs constant supervision. Celis remains in bed throughout the day with a blanket covering the window to block sunlight and loud music playing from her phone, occasionally making sounds of distress.
“She’s isolating herself,” Tabares explained. “That frightens me.”
Rights advocates point to a straightforward solution: enforcing legislation approved last year that declared a disability emergency. The law increases benefits that have declined 30% due to inflation and ensures provider funding through at least December 2026.
However, Milei has delayed implementing the law, contending that its financial cost — approximately 0.35% of gross domestic product — would compromise his achieved budget surplus, Argentina’s first following decades of deficits.
“Through worthy causes, they enact legislation that bankrupts the country,” Milei commented after rejecting the law last year.
Congress overturned his rejection. Legal disputes continue regarding fund distribution.
In a sharp ruling, a federal judge on May 18 ordered the government to resume frozen provider payments within 72 hours to comply with the law, noting that for disabled individuals, “treatment interruption causes developmental regression.” The government filed an appeal.
Milei has simultaneously proposed legislation that would officially eliminate the existing system of government payments to therapeutic centers, allowing private insurance companies and provincial authorities to establish their own provider rates.
The proposal would also impose new benefit eligibility restrictions, terminating subsidies for everyone except those living in poverty with disabilities classified as “complete” and “permanent.”
The legislation, which has generated opposition from rights organizations, awaits congressional discussion.
Months before billionaire Elon Musk — from the Trump administration’s brief Department of Government Efficiency — incorrectly alleged that millions of deceased individuals received Social Security payments, Argentine officials made similar extraordinary fraud claims: that recipients were falsifying medical examinations to illegally obtain disability funds, including at least one instance involving submission of an injured dog’s X-rays.
The scope of such fraudulent activities remains unknown. Officials have not provided evidence of widespread misconduct.
Prosecutors are examining higher-level corruption allegations: In leaked recordings from last year, former national disability agency director Diego Spagnuolo described Karina Milei, the president’s sister and primary advisor, accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal payments from pharmaceutical companies seeking government contracts.
Milei has rejected accusations regarding his sister. As oversight efforts gained importance, the government eliminated the national disability agency, Andis, terminating hundreds of employees and transferring disability programs to the Health Ministry.
Most agree that increased transparency is necessary. However, critics argue the government seems more focused on completely destroying the system rather than improving it.
“Destroying institutions without creating replacements abandons people,” stated Celeste Fernandez, co-director of the Civic Association for Equality and Justice in Buenos Aires, which successfully sued the government last year after Andis suspended 140,000 disability payments due to suspected fraud.
In most situations, the government subsequently admitted, recipients had simply failed to comply with or understand notices requiring in-person evaluations — often at locations hundreds of miles from their residences.
“The government is not implementing genuine reform,” she stated. “It is merely draining the system.”
