Thousands Take to the Streets in Argentina to Demand Funding for Public Universities

By Staff, Agencies

Thousands of students, graduates, professors and university employees marched to Argentina’s Congress in Buenos Aires on Thursday, demanding that President Javier Milei’s government enforce a law guaranteeing funding for public universities.

“We demand that the government comply with the law once and for all,” one university representative said.

The fifth Federal University March brought together university communities, trade unions, political parties and social organizations in a nationwide mobilization against the government’s handling of public higher education.

The main demonstration took place outside the Congress building, where protesters called for increased funding for public universities, salary adjustments for academic staff and the protection of educational resources. Demonstrators stressed the need to implement the University Funding Law to ensure adequate financing for universities, staff wages and student scholarships.

The protest coincided with an opposition attempt to open a debate in the Chamber of Deputies on repealing Decree 70/2023, signed by Milei shortly after taking office in December 2023. However, lawmakers failed to secure the quorum required to begin the special session.

Argentina’s Senate rejected the repeal measure in March 2024, but the decree remained in force pending further action by the lower house. The measure introduced sweeping changes to the country’s legal and economic framework, including the repeal of a law restricting foreign ownership of rural land.

The demonstrations also followed a court ruling ordering the government to implement the University Funding Law and update university salaries and student scholarships. The Milei administration appealed the decision, prolonging the dispute over funding for public higher education.

Security forces were deployed around Congress ahead of the march, with authorities erecting barriers and imposing traffic restrictions. According to local media reports, police used tear gas against demonstrators during the mobilization.

The march formed part of a nationwide day of protests, with university communities and social organizations gathering in cities across Argentina to demand greater investment in public higher education and compliance with the funding law.

The mobilization highlighted growing tensions between the government’s austerity policies and the demands of university workers and students, who warn that insufficient funding and stagnant salaries threaten the future of Argentina’s public university system.