Tens of thousands of Argentines flooded the streets of major cities nationwide on Tuesday to protest funding cuts by libertarian President Javier Milei to the public university system, a source of national pride in this crisis-prone country.
Vast crowds in downtown Buenos Aires marched toward the government headquarters to denounce budget shortfalls eroding the financial foundation of higher education. Argentina's public university system, tuition-free since 1949, has produced five Nobel laureates and is a cornerstone of the country's workforce.
Congress passed a law last year to fund universities' operational costs and raise teacher salaries in line with high inflation, but the government has not implemented it, challenging the legislation in court. Like his ally US President Donald Trump, Milei attacks university campuses as bastions of 'woke' indoctrination and has slashed education funding as part of his austerity plan.
Tuesday's protest gathered people of all ages and political persuasions as Milei faces declining approval ratings over slumping economic activity, falling wages, and climbing unemployment. Recent corruption scandals, including an investigation into lavish spending by Cabinet chief Manuel Adorni, have also struck a nerve.
'How much does Adorni cost us?' read one protest sign alluding to alleged misuse of public funds. Milei's undersecretary for university policies, Alejandro Alvarez, criticized the march as 'completely political' and said the government had compensated universities for higher operating costs, though unions reject these increases as insufficient.
In seeking to annul the legislation, Milei's administration argues it fails to specify how the state will supply mandatory funding increases during fiscal austerity. The case is expected to go to the Supreme Court, with student protesters calling on the court to 'listen to the outcry throughout the country's public squares.'
Since Milei took power in late 2023, university professors' paychecks have declined by roughly 33 percent after accounting for inflation, according to the main teachers' federation. The rector of the University of Buenos Aires, Ricardo Gelpi, said at least 580 research professors have left for private universities or better-paying jobs.
'It's very clear this government is determined to defund public education,' said Sol Muniz, a law student at the University of Buenos Aires. 'University is a source of pride for us. It is the best thing we have.'
