In Argentina, hundreds of thousands of people, especially students, demonstrated against the right-wing populist President Milei’s austerity measures. Its 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 higher education budget cuts.
“Education is one of the cornerstones of our ideology. We have no intention of closing the universities,” said presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni, defending the government’s cuts and calling for a peaceful march.
Milei, who is struggling with an inherited economic crisis after years of excessive government debt, has prescribed a radical reform course for the budget. This gave the South American country a budget surplus for the first time in 16 years, although economic experts view its sustainability critically.
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 statements, 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 with the budget, down with the Milei plan.”
Ivan Massari, biology and genetics lecturer, 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.