The National Disability Agency (ANDIS) of Argentina has sparked outrage after publishing an official document that labelled people with intellectual disabilities using offensive terms including "idiot", "imbecile" and "mentally retarded".

Resolution 187/2025, published in the Official Gazette on January 16, contained an annex that categorised individuals according to IQ ranges using terminology that experts say has been abandoned by modern medicine due to its discriminatory nature.

The document, which sets out to adjust disability benefits received by over a million Argentines as part of President Javier Milei's cost-cutting policies, classified people with IQs of 0-30 as "idiots", those with IQs between 30-50 as "imbeciles", and used various degrees of "mentally handicapped" for higher IQ ranges. Each classification included descriptions of functional abilities, such as whether the person could read, write, or manage basic needs.

Following intense backlash from disability rights organisations and mental health professionals, ANDIS acknowledged the error on February 27, stating that "the publication of the terms in question had no discriminatory intention, but was an error derived from the use of concepts belonging to obsolete terminology."

The timing of the apology has raised questions, as formal criticisms of the terminology had been lodged weeks earlier. The Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ) had published a request on February 7 to repeal the discriminatory document, but ANDIS only responded after the criticism went viral on social media.

The outcry has spread beyond Argentina, with Spanish economist Julen Bollain writing on social media that "The Milei government has decreed that people with disabilities be classified as 'idiots', 'imbeciles' and 'mentally weak'. It has been published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Argentina and violates international agreements against discrimination. It is disgraceful."

Disability advocates argue that the resolution violates the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), an international treaty with constitutional hierarchy in Argentina. An administrative appeal has already been filed which, if unsuccessful, could lead to court action.

The agency promised to modify the resolution "following current medical and regulatory standards" while maintaining that this "correction will not modify the scale or its evaluation criteria." This suggests that while the terminology will change, the controversial underlying policy approach remains intact.

ANDIS director Diego Spagnuolo, whose signature appeared on the controversial document, announced from Israel, where he was on an official trip, that "the people responsible for what happened have already been dismissed," La Nacion reported. This statement drew further criticism, with social media users questioning how he could dismiss others when his own signature was on the document.

The recent resolution follows decree 843/24 published in September last year, which introduced a previously non-existent requirement measuring "work disability" for pension eligibility. Critics argue this represents a shift back to an outdated paradigm that is regressive to the rights of people with disabilities.