As one of the advocates of social reform, Argentine president Alberto Fernández has introduced several radical policies since the start of his tenure in December 2019. One of his latest changes was to include a third gender option in identification documents starting from July 2021. 

Gender equality 

Argentinian law now states that citizens can identify as gender-neutral, but President Fernández has decided to take a bolder move joining other countries such as the United States, Canada or New Zealand allowing non-binary identities. 

What does it mean?

Argentina’s national identity document and passports now include a third gender category called “X,” permitting citizens to identify their gender other than male or female. Argentina was the first country in Latin America to introduce such a category.

"There are other identities besides that of man and woman, and they must be respected," said President Alberto. The new ID cards mean “non-binary, undetermined, unspecified, undefined, not informed, self-perceived, not recorded; or another meaning with which the person who does not feel included in the masculine/feminine binary could identify.”

With this announcement, Argentina continues to solidify its position in the region in the legal recognition of gender identity.