BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) 鈥� Tens of thousands of Argentines flooded the streets of major cities nationwide on Tuesday to protest funding cuts by libertarian to the public university system that represents a point of pride in this crisis-prone country.
Vast crowds in downtown Buenos Aires marched toward the government headquarters to denounce eroding the financial foundation of the country’s higher education. Argentina’s , a cornerstone of its well-educated workforce cherished by its large middle class, has been tuition-free since 1949 and produced five Nobel Prize laureates.
Congress passed a law last year to fund universities鈥� operational costs and raise teacher salaries in line with high inflation. But the government has not implemented it as it challenges the legislation in court.
Like his and U.S. President Donald Trump, Milei university campuses as bastions of 鈥渨oke鈥� indoctrination. He has slashed public education funding as part of his plan to take a chain saw to state funding in a sharp break from what he describes as decades of reckless spending that spawned corruption under his .
Tuesday’s protest gathered people of all ages and political persuasions as Milei faces declining approval ratings over , falling wages and . A recent series of corruption scandals has also , with fallout particularly growing from an investigation into lavish spending by Milei鈥檚 close ally, Cabinet chief Manuel Adorni, that appears inconsistent with his modest public salary and declared assets.
鈥淗ow much does Adorni cost us?鈥� read one of several student protest signs alluding to the alleged misuse of public funds.
Milei’s undersecretary for university policies, Alejandro 脕lvarez, criticized Tuesday’s march as 鈥渃ompletely political” and said the government had compensated universities for higher operating costs 鈥� marginal increases that unions have rejected as insufficient.
In seeking to annul the legislation, Milei’s administration argues that it fails to specify how the state will supply the mandatory funding increases in a time of . The case is expected to go to the Supreme Court. Student protesters on Tuesday called on the nation’s highest court to 鈥渓isten to the outcry throughout the country’s public squares.鈥�
Since Milei , university professors鈥� paychecks have declined by roughly 33% after accounting for stubborn inflation, according to the main teachers鈥� federation.
The rector of the prestigious University of Buenos Aires, Ricardo Gelpi, said the steep losses in purchasing power has driven at least 580 research professors in the engineering and science departments to ditch the public system for private universities or other better-paying jobs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very clear this government is determined to defund public education,鈥� said Sol Mu帽铆z, 24, a law student at the University of Buenos Aires at the march. 鈥淯niversity is a source of pride for us. It is the best thing we have.鈥�
___
Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP鈥檚 Latin America coverage at
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
