Argentine Public Universities on a 48-Hour Strike
Cars block the entrance to a faculty of the Buenos Aires University, Aug. 21, 2024. Photo: X/ @Cadena3Com
August 21, 2024 Hour: 1:48 pm
Milei wants to destroy public universities by allowing inflation to do its job. Professors have a hard time making ends meet.
On Tuesday, professors and workers at Argentina’s public universities began a 48-hour strike in protest of the lack of funding. University hospitals, however, are ensuring minimal services during these days.
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On August 12, they delayed the start of the second semester to demand that far-right President Javier Milei improve budget allocations, which would allow for the recovery of their salaries. The Argentine government proposed a 3 percent increase in August and another 2 percent in September. University unions rejected this proposal.
With the support of their rectors, university workers and academics demanded at least a 40 percent salary increase to offset an annual inflation rate that reached 263 percent in July. Additionally, Argentinians are denouncing the defunding of the university budget by the Human Capital Ministry, an institution that is only financing the most basic operating expenses of public institutions.
The salary conflict occurs in the context of severe cuts to public funds allocated to education, which are part of the strict austerity plan that the Milei administration began implementing in December 2023.
On April 23, thousands of citizens participated in a march to express their support for Argentina’s public universities. The libertarian government, however, ignored the social discontent.
The slogan of the workers at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) advocates for “dignified salaries for those who have the mission of ensuring an education of excellence” for their students.
“Milei seeks to delegitimize something that works well,” said UBA Vice-Rector Emiliano Yacobitti, who stated that the far-right president wants to destroy public universities by allowing inflation to do its job, forcing professors to strike because they don’t have enough income to make ends meet.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
