/s3/static.nrc.nl/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-04-23t225336z1696814404rc2mc7ajsoq1rtrmadp3argentina-protests-education.jpg "Hundreds of thousands of Argentines demonstrate against Miley's education cuts")
Students, their parents and teachers from dozens of public universities in Argentina demonstrated on Tuesday against government cuts in higher education. International news agencies write this. Demonstrations took place in various cities in the country, and the largest demonstration was in the capital, Buenos Aires, where organizers said that at least 500,000 people participated 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 Miley since he took office in December 2023. One trade union said there were one million demonstrators across the country.
The cuts to higher public education in Argentina are part of a broader package of cuts by Miley, aimed at cutting government spending and addressing the budget deficit. Thousands of civil servants have already been dismissed, and subsidies on public transport and fuel, among other things, have been significantly reduced.
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Closure threatens universities
Argentina's 57 public universities are struggling financially due to high energy costs and rampant inflation of nearly 290 percent, and according to several university boards, they will receive only a portion of the usual annual budget this year. For example, the University of Buenos Aires says it has received less than 9% 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 about 380,000 students home if the situation does not change.
About 2.2 million students in Argentina risk ending their studies prematurely. Because of the financial crisis — about 60 percent of Argentines live below the poverty line — moving to a private university is unaffordable for many residents of the South American country. However, Miley's government has already said it will not surrender. According to Miley and his ministers, the quality of Argentina's public university system has declined, and “indoctrination” is taking place in educational institutions.
