Best & Worst of CPAC's Free Speech Ratings: Argentina

In the inaugural CPAC Free Speech Ratings, Argentina received an impressive score of 90 percent, establishing itself as a leading ally of free speech. This rating reflects a robust legal environment in which the government actively protects the right of citizens to express their beliefs without fear of state retribution. The high score positions Argentina as a beacon of liberty, signaling a clear commitment to the protection of independent thought and expression.

Argentina’s strong performance is the result of a significant shift toward conservative values, particularly under the leadership of President Javier Milei. Following decades of government overreach that often stifled dissent, Milei has worked to dismantle the bureaucratic machinery previously used to monitor and restrict speech. A primary example is the closure of the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI), an agency Milei argued had been weaponized by previous administrations under the pretense of political correctness to silence opponents. Additionally, the Milei administration terminated pauta oficial, or state-funded media advertising, ensuring that public funds are no longer used to purchase favorable coverage or punish critical outlets. These reforms, among many others, have prioritized free speech by curbing the authority of bureaucratic agencies that were once used to monitor and suppress dissent.

The acquittal of Alejandro Bodart serves as a powerful testament to the Argentine judicial system's refusal to allow controversy to override the fundamental principles of free speech. Bodart, a communist activist, was initially convicted of antisemitic hate crimes under a 2020 law that codified the IHRA definition of antisemitism into Argentine law. The charges stemmed from posts on X in which Bodart criticized Israel as “racist and genocidal,” called for a “secular and democratic Palestine from the river to the sea,” and compared Zionism to Nazism. While a higher court initially imposed a six-month suspended prison sentence following an appeal by the DAIA, the legal battle ultimately concluded in favor of free speech. On September 29, 2025, a third court overturned the conviction, ruling that Bodart’s statements constituted protected political speech rather than criminal discrimination.

Argentina has distinguished itself as a staunch defender of free speech, safeguarding its citizens from corrosive government overreach. By dismantling state-sponsored censorship and ensuring that the judicial system protects even controversial political discourse, the current administration has positioned the country as a champion of individual liberty.

Read the full brief here.

Not every case of imprisonment for speech gets widespread media attention. If you are aware of a case in which a person was imprisoned for speech and received a harsher sentence than the political prisoner whom we feature in the scorecard, please send the details of the case to slaird2@conservative.org. To meet our methodological criteria, the person must be 1) imprisoned or sentenced to prison for speech that would have been protected under the US first amendment, 2) a citizen of the country in which they are imprisoned, 3) received a sentence of imprisonment for at least one month OR were imprisoned without being sentenced for at least 3 months 4) not imprisoned for any actual crime during the same period for which they were sentenced for a speech crime.

CPAC vehemently opposes the views of many of the political prisoners featured in the Freedom of Speech Ratings. Political prisoners are featured in the Freedom of Speech Ratings for the purpose of revealing the state of legal Freedom of Speech protection in their countries. Political prisoners are selected based on the objective facts of their cases; each selected prisoner is the person who received the harshest sentence in that country for speech that would have been protected by the US First Amendment. CPAC stands for the right to Freedom of Speech for everyone, even people whose views we vehemently oppose.