The Argentine government managed to ratify in the Chamber of Deputies the veto of the law which expanded the budget of public universities and readjusted professors’ salaries. With the veto confirmed, the president’s government Javier Miley is preparing to send to Congress a new project that allows public universities charge for teaching to thousands of Brazilian students, among other foreigners.
Immediately after the Chamber of Deputies confirmed the veto of the university financing law, the unions responded with the announcement of a greve in all public universities in the country this Thursday (10), with the aim of “consolidating the fight plan in defense of salaries and the budget”.
“We repudiate the deputies who voted against the popular mandate to defend the university”, says, in a statement, the Universities Union Front.
“A political alliance was formed that was incapable of being moved by the suffering of the vast majority, given the demand of all sectors to defend quality public universities and decent salaries for teachers”, accuse the unions.
The strike is yet another action by university students in favor of the university financing law and against President Javier Milei’s veto.
Streets become classrooms
In response to the veto, students at the University of Buenos Aires took control of the faculties and took the classrooms to the streets as a form of protest. Open classes aim to reinforce the importance of public education.
On October 2, a demonstration took 270 thousand people to the Argentine Congress to pressure lawmakers to overturn Milei’s vote. On April 23, 430 thousand people protested in favor of expanding the budget of public universities, at the time without money to pay electricity bills. Across the country, demonstrations multiplied in the main city squares.
Military personnel surround the Argentine Congress to contain student demonstrations.
Photo: Juan Mabromata / AFP
This Wednesday (9), the Argentine Congress woke up armored with metal barriers to contain the pressure of thousands of students. Within Congress, opposition deputies even came close, but failed to obtain the two-thirds of votes necessary to overturn the presidential veto. The government’s victory was possible thanks to five abstentions and seven absences of deputies.
Although Milei only has 15% of the deputies in the Chamber, the alliance with the former president Mauricio Macri allows it to reach a third of the votes needed to ratify the vetoes on salary increases for retirees and the university budget. The opposition obtained 159 votes, the government only 85, but with this result the government emerged victorious.
Foreigners can be a source of income
The law, approved on September 13 by the Legislature, established a salary increase for teachers retroactive to last December, when the Milei government began. Since then, the inflation accumulated reaches 150%. This Thursday, the September index will be released.
The law also updated the budget of public universities from January and determined that the adjustment would be bimonthly, according to the inflation rate.
The impact of these measures on the Gross Domestic Product was only 0.14%. Even so, Milei vetoed the law as he considered it affected the fiscal balance and threatened the economic plan. The main fear was the door that would be opened to demands from other sectors.
To alleviate university budgets, the government wants foreign students to pay for tuition. In the crosshairs, there are around 15 thousand Brazilians, the majority of whom are medical students. Milei must send a project to Congress to allow universities to charge for classes, which are currently free.
“This will mean that universities, if they want, will be able to charge foreign students. It will be a voluntary act, because today we do not have the legislative majority to force it. There are certain courses, such as Medicine and Dentistry, with a large number of foreigners. These are expensive courses in which the cost per student for the State is very high”, he says. RFI the deputy secretary of University Policies, Alejandro Álvarez.
According to the government, the number of foreigners in all public universities in the country is 21.8%. In Medicine courses at main universities, this number is around 32%.
But Brazilians are not alone. Argentine Brenda Hamilton, History student, explains to RFI what is the vision of students at the University of Buenos Aires.
“The position of the Student Center decided in the Assembly on Monday (8) was to repudiate the Milei government’s threat to move forward with charging foreign students, who represent only 5% of students at the University of Buenos Aires. Therefore, the problem is not foreign students, the problem is the Milei government”, concludes Brenda.
