Thousands are now taking to the streets to defend public universities in a country that once time ago made education a vehicle for social mobility, . Argentina’s academic community faces a brutal austerity plan under President Javier Milei, threatening to dismantle decades of social achievements in the name of fiscal discipline.

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The University of Buenos Aires (UBA), one of Latin America’s most prestigious institutions and the alma mater of five Nobel Prize winners, now symbolizes the national backlash against Milei’s neoliberal crusade. With skyrocketing inflation, frozen budgets, mass resignations, and hospitals in crisis, the UBA and its six affiliated hospitals are struggling to survive under a government that sees education as expendable.

Over the past weeks, students, professors, medical workers, and citizens across Argentina have staged one of the most powerful protest movements in recent memory. From symbolic embraces around university hospitals to torch-lit marches, mass walkouts, and open-air classes, demonstrators are resisting what they describe as a calculated dismantling of public higher education.

“We’ve reduced hospital operations to 30–40%, and even then we can’t meet basic expenses,” warned Marcelo Melo, director of the Clínicas Hospital. Soaring inflation—reaching 288% annually—has made it impossible to sustain operations under 2023 budget levels, which have been arbitrarily extended into 2024. Essential supplies, medical equipment, and high-value drugs are now unaffordable. Meanwhile, over 80% of UBA’s budget is consumed by salaries, many of which are no longer livable.

“This adjustment is directly aimed at public universities. For Milei, this is just a nest of leftists—which is absurd,” said Priscila Saracino, a professor at the UBA’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry. “Anyone who has spent time here knows that ideological diversity is real. What unites us is our defense of education.”

The cuts go far beyond budget lines. In 2024, Milei vetoed a University Funding Law passed by Congress that guaranteed inflation-indexed budgets, wage negotiations, and funding for key academic programs. The veto marked a turning point: what had been a financial dispute became an open confrontation over the role of public institutions in Argentina’s future.

The government’s messaging has only fueled the crisis. A new state-run educational cartoon tells children that “university will leave you in debt forever” and promotes the idea that degrees are unnecessary to earn a living. Such ideological propaganda, critics argue, is meant to delegitimize the very idea of higher education as a public good.

Meanwhile, new concerns have emerged over state surveillance. The 2025 National Intelligence Plan, revealed by the local press, lists “university actors critical of the government” among its targets. Protesters responded with a defiant chant: “Intelligence services out of the universities!”

Faced with these assaults, a broad national movement has emerged. In April 2024, nearly a million people joined marches across the country. On June 27, thousands rallied in Buenos Aires and cities like Córdoba and Bariloche in a torchlit mobilization. Striking professors and students were joined by retirees, health workers, and artists—all defending what they see as a social conquest under attack.

“We are facing this government’s attacks. One of them is clearly against public education,” said Mariana, a student and activist who declined to give her full name.

“We haven’t had wage negotiations in almost eight months,” added Alejandro Montoso, a university professor. “Public universities can’t survive without their workers.”

The demands are clear: restore adequate funding for institutions, reinstate wage negotiations, expand student scholarships, and protect the autonomy of public education. According to the National Federation of University Professors (CONADU), salaries have lost over 28% of their value under Milei’s rule. In the Faculty of Agronomy alone, 30 researchers with PhDs have resigned due to unlivable wages, leaving entire research teams dismantled.

Despite this, Milei has doubled down. The president claims to support public universities but accuses them of financial mismanagement, insisting that 89% of funds transferred between 2015 and 2022 remain unaccounted for. He has ordered the National Audit Office to investigate, despite objections from UBA officials who say existing oversight mechanisms are sufficient—and that the audit office has no jurisdiction.

According to political analyst Ana Iparraguirre, the public university system still enjoys broad legitimacy and public trust. “For Milei, sending a message to the markets matters more than mass protests,” she noted. “But the student movement is leaving a mark—it’s a dent in the presidency.”

A new university funding bill will be debated in Congress on July 2. But until then, the torches will remain lit. Students are occupying buildings, holding open-air classes, and planning a nationwide strike. They are not just fighting for tuition or salaries—but for the soul of Argentina’s public future.

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