The Universities Against Milei: The Hot Autumn of Protests Begins in Buenos Aires

Thousands take to the streets in Argentina to defend the national university system, under attack due to the spending cuts imposed by the Milei government. Even pensioners and workers on a war footing. New general strike on May 9th.

Large demonstrations took place in all the cities of Argentina yesterday, Tuesday 23 April, in defense of the prestigious national university system, which weeks ago declared a financial emergency due to the cuts imposed by Javier Milei’s government.

The executive strategy, also applied in other sectors of public administration such as in the case of salaries and pensions, is that of “liquefaction”: instead of lowering spending, the value of the funds established for public bodies is kept unchanged in the

2023, leaving inflation (above 200% year-on-year) to do the rest. It is estimated that the 2024 budget of the 56 Argentine state universities has suffered a reduction of 72% compared to the end of the 2023 academic year. A final blow therefore for one of the most renowned university systems in Latin America.

One of the most concerning aspects of the cuts concerns teaching hospitals, which perform healthcare functions in the communities in which they are located as well as serving as training institutions for future doctors.

There are six across the country, and their maintenance depends on state funding through the university budget. In the case of the University of Buenos Aires, the Hospital de Clinicas, the Ángel H. Roffo Institute of Oncology and the Dental Hospital used 75% of the University’s 2023 ordinary maintenance expenses. This year foresees a 60.2% reduction in spending in this sector.

Added to this is that the International Monetary Fund estimates that Argentina will close 2024 with an accumulated inflation of 149%, a situation that would force most universities to close if new public funding is not established.

The demonstrations were called by the National Inter-University Council, which brings together the rectors of all the universities in the country, after having noted the serious problems that the university system is suffering due to the provisions of the Milei government.

Individual universities have already had to take drastic measures to maintain their functioning: cuts to scholarships, research projects and the purchase of instruments; cancellation of all construction works planned or underway; in some faculties the use of elevators has been prohibited and the electricity is turned off at night to save on bills. Others expect not to be able to turn on the heating with the arrival of the cold months starting from May.

The reaction from Argentine society was strongly felt.

In Buenos Aires yesterday more than 500,000 people took to the streets, in a gesture of clear defiance of the liberalization and austerity plan imposed by Milei.

Public education and healthcare in the country are completely free, no vouchers or taxes of any kind are paid, and historically represent a source of pride for Argentine society. Since the 1930s, the Argentine public university has allowed the formation of an intellectual middle class with a very strong influence at a national and Latin American level. Free access to higher education is one of the elements that explains why Argentina has historically been one of the countries with the largest middle class on the American continent.

Since the 1990s, however, there has been a slow degradation of public education, especially in the first cycles of education, due precisely to state defunding and the federalization of the education system. The state’s abandonment of the sector has produced a peculiar phenomenon: the middle-upper classes have begun to choose private institutions for the education of their children, which have maintained an academic level adequate to their needs; while public schools, in addition to having lost their role as a meeting space between social classes, have had to transform themselves into agents destined to respond to the basic needs of the weakest sectors of society.

This has resulted in a de facto privatization of Argentine education: quality schools are intended for those who can pay for them (with the exception of university colleges), while public schools have to deal with the country’s most serious social problems, before even tackling their educational tasks (today in Argentina 7 out of 10 children under 17 are poor, and two of them are hungry).

The public university, however, remained unscathed by this phenomenon. These are extremely renowned institutions, which boast much greater academic prestige than the private system and have maintained their role as a meeting space between social sectors that tend to be distant. For this reason, the Milei government’s decision to drastically reduce university funding was seen as a blow to the heart of Argentine society, an affront to one of the cornerstones of its identity, and the protests attracted the support of thousands of people in the whole country.

On the eve of Tuesday’s demonstrations, President Milei made yet another speech to unified networks to announce the achievement of the goal of eliminating the budget deficit for the first time since 2008.

“First, I want to say to all Argentines that I understand that the situation we are experiencing is difficult, but that we have already covered more than half the journey. The last stage of a heroic effort that we Argentines are making now opens, and for the first time in a long time, this time the effort will be worth it”, began the president.

“If the state does not spend more than it collects and does not resort to emission, there is no inflation. It is not a question of magic. These are concepts that have already been demonstrated throughout the history of humanity and in Argentina they are rejected for a very simple reason: politicians want to spend a lot because they are the main beneficiaries of this spending. The fun is over with us.”

Although the macroeconomic data of the first three months of Milei’s government appear to be positive, even the most orthodox experts, at home and abroad, are very skeptical about the sustainability of the model imposed since December.

During the first quarter of 2024 alone, the purchasing power of wages collapsed by 20%, pensions reduced by 37.5%, social benefits by 32.9% and the inflation accumulated between January and March is 51,6%.

The goal of “zero deficit” was therefore achieved thanks to the sacrifice of pensioners, poor people and workers, and both foreign investors and the International Monetary Fund know that a similar situation represents a time bomb.

The demonstrations in defense of the university therefore open a very hot season of protests in Buenos Aires.

A large mobilization is planned for May 1st in the capital, as has not been done for years, to protest against the government’s measures, and a general strike called by all the trade unions is scheduled for May 9th, the second in just three months of government of the first liberal-libertarian president in the world.