Calay News
Lucas Luna, an aspirant to the Parlasur for the party La Libertad Avanza (LLA), has been repudiated by the entire political sphere due to his discriminatory comments towards a legislator with osteogenesis imperfecta.
Representatives of different political parties in Argentina, both ruling and opposition, left and right, united to condemn the statements of Lucas Luna, who affirmed that “nobody would vote for a disabled person.”
His comments were directed at Franco Rinaldi, a political scientist and candidate for Buenos Aires city legislator for Juntos por el Cambio (JxC), who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta and uses a wheelchair.
The moderators of the event immediately rejected Luna’s statements, pointing out that he could not express such opinions and suggesting his expulsion.
Luna, also known as ‘Sagaz’ on Twitter, tried to justify his opinion by arguing that people want to vote for someone similar to them and that this is a reality. He later offered apologies on social networks and tried to soften his comments by stating that Rinaldi was a qualified person to be a legislator, although he insisted that some voters, out of prejudice or ignorance, would not elect him to executive office.
However, the liberal candidate was forced to resign his candidacy due to public pressure, receiving the unanimous rejection of the Argentine political class on the eve of the August primary elections.
Franco Rinaldi responded to Luna’s comments by expressing a profound rejection. He emphasized that the qualities and requirements to represent, legislate, manage, and govern are independent of disability. He affirmed that people with different diseases or abilities can be elected to executive positions and perform successfully. The repudiation of Luna’s comments was also expressed by political leaders such as Sergio Massa and Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, who emphasized the importance of building an inclusive society and rejecting discrimination as a way of doing politics. The ultra-liberal economist Javier Milei, leader and candidate of La Libertad Avanza, did not pronounce himself on the discriminatory acts of the members of his party, generating criticism for his silence on this matter.
