In Argentina, hundreds of thousands of people, mostly students, demonstrated against the right-wing populist President Milei’s austerity measures. Their radical reform course does not stop at the education sector.
Hundreds of thousands of Argentines have taken to the streets in Buenos Aires to protest against President Javier Milei’s university budget cuts.
Argentina’s education system is considered one of the best in Latin America. Studying at public universities is free and many young people from other countries in the region also come to study in the South American country. As part of its austerity policy, the Argentine government recently cut public university budgets by 71 percent.
Presidential spokesman tries to calm down
“Education is one of the cornerstones of our ideology. We have no intention of closing the universities,” presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni defended the government’s cuts and called for a peaceful march.
Milei, who is struggling with an inherited economic crisis after years of excessive national debt, has prescribed a radical course of budget reform. This meant that the South American country achieved a budget surplus for the first time in 16 years, although economists are critical of its sustainability.
Renowned university is threatened with closure
The cuts have hit the public sector hard. Argentina’s state universities such as the renowned Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), which offer tuition-free studies, are heavily dependent on government funding. “I’m here to defend public universities,” said Pedro Palm, an 82-year-old architect and UBA graduate.
According to its own information, the university is threatened with closure due to austerity measures.
Demonstrations in several cities
At the union-backed demonstrations in the capital and other cities, banners were held with slogans such as “Defend public universities,” “Studying is a right” and “Up the budget, down the Milei plan.”
Ivan Massari, lecturer in biology and genetics, said free education must be defended as it is the best way to strengthen society and create opportunities for everyone. “Public education is a tool for social change,” he said. “It gives individuals the opportunity to develop, contribute to society and shape their future.
