Tens of thousands of Argentines poured into the streets in multiple cities across the country to protest the government of President Javier Milei cutting the budget for the public university system. In the capital Buenos Aires, a massive crowd marched to the presidential palace on Tuesday (Feb. 25) to denounce the budget shortfall, which they argue is undermining the foundation of higher education.
Argentina's public universities have been tuition-free since 1949 and have produced five Nobel laureates. Congress passed a law last year to fund universities' operating costs and raise faculty and academic salaries in line with soaring inflation. However, President Milei's government has refused to enforce the law and is challenging it in court.
Milei has frequently denounced universities as bastions of "woke" ideology. Since taking office in late 2023, he has slashed public education spending as part of an effort to shrink the state budget, which he claims was bloated by decades of reckless spending and corruption under leftist predecessors.
Tuesday's protest drew large crowds of people of all ages and political leanings, as President Milei faces declining approval ratings due to an economic recession, falling real incomes, and rising unemployment. Public anger has also grown after a series of corruption allegations, including an investigation into lavish spending by Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni, a close ally of Milei, which local media reports suggest is inconsistent with his official salary and declared assets.
Presidential undersecretary for university policy, Alejandro Alvarez, dismissed the march as "purely political" and insisted the government had compensated universities for higher costs. However, unions say the increase falls far short of actual needs. Since Milei took office, university faculty salaries have lost about a third of their real value after adjusting for inflation, according to data from the main teachers' federation.
