Argentina’s National Interuniversity Council (CIN) has called for a fourth mass university march on Tuesday, May 12, as faculty, students, and rectors prepare to take to the streets across all 23 provinces to force President Javier Milei’s libertarian administration to comply with a congressionally approved university funding law that remains unimplemented.

More than 60 public universities will mobilize in every province to protest a prolonged budget freeze, spiraling salary losses, and the government’s outright refusal to enforce the University Funding Law—legislation passed twice by the National Congress.

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“For the government, this is the thrashing of a drowning man trying to block through the courts a law that was voted on twice,” said Clara Chevallier, secretary general of the National Federation of University Faculty (Conadu). “Unions know the main battleground is not the judiciary but collective action. We expect a massive turnout that will channel the private anger and isolated grief that Javier Milei’s government has caused. May 12 may mark the beginning of the end of this administration.”

Students report being pushed to the brink. Abril Miranda, secretary general of the University Federation of Mar del Plata, explained that “austerity cuts are being transferred directly to national universities, which can barely guarantee basic operations. Students hold multiple jobs just like faculty. More and more classmates are dropping out because they can’t afford bus fare or study materials.”

The crisis has hit university hospitals especially hard. Last week, the University of Buenos Aires warned of potential closures of its teaching hospitals due to missing funds. Marcelo Melo, director of the Clínicas Hospital, stated: “In the last four months, we haven’t received a single peso for hospital operating budgets. That means we cannot buy supplies, medications, or pay fees.”

According to the National Interuniversity Council, which represents all national university rectors, 70% of faculty and non-teaching staff salaries now fall below the poverty line, while state allocations are insufficient even for minimal infrastructure maintenance. Local media report that universities have endured budget cuts exceeding 45% over the past 30 months under Milei, with higher education salaries losing 33.7% of their value.

Patricio Grande, a professor at National University of Luján and Conadu Histórica executive board member, calculated that “to recover the salaries we had in December 2023, we would need an increase of more than 50%—exactly what the funding law requires.”

The broader economic collapse compounds the educational crisis. As one Argentine news outlet described: “Thousands of anguished, exhausted people now ration bus rides because fares have become tortuously expensive. They calculate how to survive winter with gas hikes. Two-bedroom rents approach 800,000 pesos; filling a car tank costs over 120,000 pesos.”

March organizers vow that Tuesday’s demonstrations will surpass previous turnouts, demanding not only university funding but also a broader rejection of Milei’s austerity agenda.

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