Students at the University of Buenos Aires Exact and Natural Sciences building gathered in the central hall to protest President Javier Milei’s spending cuts. Their chanting at an assembly, “This cannot go on,” came as they announced plans to occupy the faculty for a day. The hall was covered with dozens of banners criticising the austerity measures.
The occupation is a traditional form of protest in Argentina, meant to raise public awareness and pressure the government. Many students and professors at the public university system say Milei’s austerity policies threaten the future of free higher education.
Students and professors warn of an exodus from public universities
Emiliano Gato, a physics student taking part in the protest, said the best professors were leaving public institutions. He said their salaries could no longer cover basic needs, and that many were moving to private universities.
Gato said he had hoped to research and teach at the public university, which he described as a prestigious school. He said the austerity plan had left him uncertain about what would happen next.
Public universities have become a major battleground for the government’s austerity plan. Students and professors say the lack of funding and the erosion of wages pose a serious threat to public education in the country.
Milei defends austerity as a federal judge orders daily fines
Milei has been carrying out one of the harshest austerity programmes in Argentina’s history, according to the report. Since taking office in 2023, he has laid off thousands of state employees, closed ministries, reduced subsidies and cut government-funded programmes. The measures were intended to tackle high inflation, which has fallen to around 2 percent a month.
Milei has said his plan is working. Speaking during a recent visit to Washington, he said the economy was growing quickly and that the country had recorded 27 consecutive months of sustained growth. He argued that the expansion was being felt across almost every sector.
Critics say the plan is also hurting public education, welfare programmes for people with disabilities, pensioners and others who rely on state support. The opposition has attempted to block many of Milei’s reforms.
Last year, Congress overturned presidential vetoes and approved two laws. One increased funding for public universities, and the other declared a disability emergency. Milei’s government has refused to implement them, arguing that Congress did not explain how they would be financed.
A federal judge has now begun fining the government 100,000 pesos, about $70, a day for failing to implement parts of the university financing law. The law requires the government to restore university salaries and student scholarships lost to inflation, update budgets regularly, and fund research, hospitals and infrastructure.
Thursday protests in Buenos Aires turn violent near Congress
Thousands of people marched through Buenos Aires on Thursday to demand that the government implement the law. Long columns blocked the city centre as participants called for a general strike. The protest was meant to be peaceful, but it soon turned violent.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, while protesters threw rocks. The plaza in front of Congress looked like a battleground. At least 25 people were detained, and several others were injured, including members of the security forces.
Maria Teresa de Jesus, a professor in the University of Buenos Aires chemistry department, said she earns around $700 a month and finds it increasingly hard to make ends meet. She said she had joined the protest as a last resort. “Public education is crucial in this country, to make education accessible to all. And the government is ignoring it,” she said.
Many Argentines still back Milei’s economic plan. They hope the government’s effort to exploit the country’s large natural resources will bring more jobs, higher wages and better living standards. Others have lost faith in the plan and are prepared to escalate their opposition. They accuse the government of serving a privileged few while asking everyone else to bear the cost.
