Esteban Paulón

Esteban Paulón
National Deputy
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 December 2023
ConstituencySanta Fe
Personal details
Born (1978-06-17) 17 June 1978
PartySocialist Party (since 2002)
Popular Socialist Party (1992–2002)
Other political
affiliations		Hacemos por Nuestro País (since 2023)
Alma materUniversidad del Salvador

Esteban Paulón (born 17 June 1978) is an Argentine LGBT rights activist and politician currently serving as a National Deputy elected in Santa Fe Province. From 2010 to 2015 he was president of the FALGBT, Argentina's largest LGBT rights organization.

Early life and career

Paulón was born on 17 June 1978. He completed a licenciatura degree on tourism at the Universidad del Salvador (USAL).

His activism in favour of LGBT rights in Argentina led to him leading the Federación Argentina de Lesbianas, Gays, Bisexuales y Trans (English: "Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Trans"; FALGBT+), serving as its president from 2010 to 2015, vice president from 2015 to 2019, and secretary general from 2007 to 2019.[1] He had an active participation in drafting and promoting the Equal Marriage Law (2009), which legalised same-sex marriage in Argentina and the Gender Identity Law (2012), which granted the travesti and trans population free access to legal gender changes, hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgery.[2]

In 2015, he compiled the "Pride (Orgullo en el trabajo)" report for the International Labour Organization and the LGBT Citizenship Plan “De la Igualdad legal a la igualdad real” (English: "From legal equality to real equality"), in collaboration with the FALGBT and the United Nations inter-agency system in Argentina.

From 2015 to 2019, he was Undersecretary of Sexual Diversity Policies of Santa Fe Province under Governor Miguel Lifschitz.[3] He also chaired the executive committee of Red Gay Latino and served as an ad honorem advisor to the Ministry of Women, Genders and Diversity of Argentina from 2019 to 2023.[4]

National Deputy

At the 2023 general election, Paulón was the first candidate in the Hacemos por Nuestro País list to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies in Santa Fe (under the name "La Fuerza de Santa Fe");[5] the list received 9.19% of the vote, enough for Paulón to make it past the D'Hondt cut and be elected.[6] Upon taking office he joined the Federal Encounter legislative bloc, alongside fellow socialist deputy Mónica Fein.[7]

A long-time LGBTQ+ activist who played a central role in the approval of marriage equality and gender identity laws, Paulón quickly brought this agenda into Congress by introducing bills on equal parental leave, comprehensive rights for trans people, prevention of discrimination, and legalization of cannabis. He has also advanced environmental initiatives such as a wetlands protection law, while consistently defending science, public institutions, and federal funding.[8][9]

Paulón has positioned himself as a critic of President Javier Milei's administration, particularly regarding austerity measures, privatizations, and limits on social rights.[10] He has cosigned proposals to protect the science and technology system and to secure public funding for national universities.[11][12] He has also expressed opposition to decrees that weakened public agencies like the INTI.[13]

Ahead of the 2025 legislative election, Paulón launched his candidacy to run for a seat in the National Senate for the City of Buenos Aires, despite having been elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Santa Fe in 2023.[14]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Esteban Paulón
Election Office List # District Votes Result Ref.
Total % P.
2023 National Deputy La Fuerza de Santa Fe 1 Santa Fe Province 184,680 9.19% 4th[a] Elected [6]
  1. ^ Presented on an electoral list. The data shown represents the share of the vote the entire party/alliance received in that constituency.

References

  1. ^ Vallejos, Soledad (10 May 2012). "El respeto a la identidad". Página 12 (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Esteban Paulón se mostró esperanzado de aprobar la Ley de Identidad de Género" (in Spanish). 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013.
  3. ^ "El activista LGBT Esteban Paulón ganó una banca en el Congreso". Agencia Presentes (in Spanish). 23 October 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Presentamos el Consejo Asesor Ad Honorem del ministerio". argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). 3 June 2020. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023.
  5. ^ Novaresio, Luis (18 October 2023). "Esteban Paulón: el único activista gay del país que encabeza una lista para Diputados". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Elecciones 2023". electoral.gob.ar (in Spanish). Cámara Nacional Electoral. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  7. ^ "La oposición muestra los dientes en Diputados". Página 12 (in Spanish). 4 February 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Un diputado socialista presentó su primer paquete de proyectos". Parlamentario (in Spanish). 12 December 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  9. ^ "Esteban Paulon presentó sus primeros seis proyectos en el Congreso Nacional". Política de Santa Fe (in Spanish). 12 December 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  10. ^ Riccobene, Antonio (31 August 2025). "Esteban Paulón: "El gran desafío es pensar la era post-Milei"". MDZ Online (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  11. ^ "Presentan un proyecto en Diputados "para convertir en ciencia y tecnología la timba financiera" del Gobierno". Periferia (in Spanish). 8 August 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Paulón: "Vamos a forzar el debate por el financiamiento universitario pese a la negación oficialista"". Radio UNR (in Spanish). 29 May 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  13. ^ "El diputado Esteban Paulón visitó el INTI y respaldó el proyecto para derogar el decreto que limita sus funciones". InfoGremiales (in Spanish). 28 July 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  14. ^ Alfie, Alejandro (9 August 2025). "Inesperada interna en el Partido Socialista por la candidatura de un diputado santafecino como senador porteño". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 September 2025.
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