Argentina's public universities face 45% funding cut under Milei, sparking protests

President Javier Milei’s administration has reduced real financing for Argentina’s national public universities by 45.6% over two years, providing less than half the resources needed for their operation. The cuts have halved teachers’ purchasing power, frozen student scholarships and put university hospitals at risk of shutting down.

Congress approved a University Financing Law with two‑thirds support, but Milei vetoed or ignored it, leaving the law unenforced almost 200 days later. Approximately 89% of engineers, 88% of veterinarians, 86% of agronomists and 73% of doctors are trained in public universities, so the reductions threaten key professional sectors. On Tuesday, demonstrators plan to march, invoking the historic 1918 University Reform that fought elitist education.