A Turning Point for Javier Milei’s Presidency: Public University Protest Brings Together All Sectors

Amidst the ongoing economic and political challenges in Argentina, the massive marches on Tuesday in defense of the public university marked a turning point in the presidential mandate of Javier Milei. During his first four months in power, Milei has made high-impact decisions with the argument of eliminating the fiscal deficit and shrinking the State. He has paralyzed public works, closed state agencies, fired tens of thousands of officials, lowered pensions and salaries. Each new measure has found detractors and defenders, but the privatization agenda seems to have found its first limit: the public university.

The smear campaign launched by the far-right Government has only worsened the situation. Milei accused teachers of indoctrinating and brainwashing students caught in her reading, in almost every family in Argentina there are stories of people whose lives were changed by public education. His free universities are also a source of admiration in the rest of Latin America, especially in those countries where studying a degree means going into debt for years.

Argentine public universities only have resources to function until July and neither students nor professors know if there will be classes in the second semester. Not even the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), the most prestigious in the country and among the best in Latin America, is free from uncertainty. The reason is that the budget is only enough to cover administrative expenses for March and April as inflation approaches 300% year-on-year, leaving little resources for actual teaching activities. The Executive tried to stop the day of protest last week with an alleged agreement that was denied by rectors. Government spokespersons said that resources had been allocated to cover administrative expenses for March and April; however, universities clarified that their main problem was with frozen teachers’ salaries which represent most expenditures.

Despite attempts by Milei to disqualify it as an opposition political act or a demonstration organized by socialist groups like Perónism or left-wing voters, Tuesday’s protest was massive and heterogeneous like few others since 2001–2002 social outbreak crisis of corralito crisis. The organizers estimated around 800,000 people marched alone while police reduced it to 150,000 but based on image analysis provided by Diario La Nación estimated protesters at 450,000 people present on Tuesday evening alone. The middle class played a leading role along with other sectors including professionals who have benefited from higher education opportunities provided by these institutions thus giving up upward mobility opportunities for their children when they’re deprived from them because their government decided to cut funding for these institutions while still providing financial aid plan for parents sending their children private schools – further exacerbating inequality within society.