Hundreds of thousands of Argentinians demonstrate against Milei’s education cuts

Students, their parents and teachers from dozens of public universities in Argentina demonstrated on Tuesday against the government’s cuts to higher education. International news agencies write this. Demonstrations took place in various cities in the country, with the largest demonstration in the capital Buenos Aires, where organizers said at least 500,000 people took part in the protest march.

Private universities, trade unions and opposition parties also joined the demonstrations, which turned into one of the largest protests against the government of President Javier Milei since he took office in December 2023. One trade union said there were a million demonstrators across the country.

Cuts to higher public education in Argentina are part of a broader package of cuts by Milei, aimed at reducing government spending and tackling the budget deficit. Thousands of civil servants have already been dismissed and subsidies for public transport and fuel, among other things, have been significantly reduced.

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Closure threatens universities

The 57 public universities in Argentina are in financial difficulty due to high energy costs and rampant inflation of almost 290 percent, and according to several university boards they will only receive part of the usual annual budget this year. For example, the University of Buenos Aires says it has received less than 9 percent of its annual budget from the state since July last year, when the fiscal year began. The university says it may have to close its doors within two months and send around 380,000 students home if the situation does not change.

About 2.2 million students in Argentina are at risk of ending their studies prematurely. Due to the financial crisis – around 60 percent of Argentinians live below the poverty line – a transfer to a private university is unaffordable for many residents of the South American country. However, the Milei government has already said it will not give in. According to Milei and his ministers, the quality of Argentina’s public university system has declined and “indoctrination” is taking place at educational institutions.

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