El Salvador’s Ministry of Education published a memorandum prohibiting the use of inclusive language in all public schools in the country.

According to Lieutenant Karla Trigueros, current Minister of Education, words like “amigue,” “compañere,” “niñe,” “todos y todas,” and “nosotrxs” constitute a linguistic distortion.

This memorandum is Trigueros’ second in her ministerial term. After being appointed in August, she ordered public schools to monitor the appropriateness and discipline of students’ uniforms and personal appearance.

However, El Salvador is not the only country to adopt this measure. In 2024, Argentina also banned the use of inclusive language, and a few days ago, the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, took a similar action.

So, what’s the reason for this tendency toward prohibition? As linguist Adrián Chávez points out, «we have to look for the reasons in politics.»

The ban is not an isolated incident, but rather an action aligned with the rise of ultraconservatism globally.

This new conservative wave, in addition to advancing rapidly, jeopardizes the recognition of women and the LGBTI community, perpetuating historical inequalities.

In addition, inIn the case of El Salvador, as researcher Allan Barrera mentions, the educational provisions coming from a lieutenant evoke «the dark military dictatorships that El Salvador suffered in the decades of 1930-1980.»