Argentine Universities Begin 24-Hour Strike
Mobilization in defense of Argentine public universities, Oct. 16, 2024. X/ @gkatopodis
October 17, 2024 Hour: 8:41 am
Currently, 70 percent of professors and administrative staff earn salaries below the poverty line.
On Thursday, the National Interuniversity Council (CIN), professors’ and workers’ unions, and student organizations will hold a 24-hour strike in defense of Argentina’s public universities.
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Besides demanding salary increases and a larger university budget, the national strike aims to oppose the latest decisions made by the Chamber of Deputies, which approved President Javier Milei’s veto of the university financing law.
Next week, university communities will also carry out other protest actions such as vigils, classes in public spaces, roadblocks, and the occupation of faculties, university offices, and pre-university schools.
“There are no negotiations of any kind with President Javier Milei’s administration. This lack of dialogue is a very serious problem because it shows the breakdown of the democratic pact in Argentina,” said Carlos De Feo, a member of the National Federation of University Teachers (CONADU).
Currently, 70 percent of professors and administrative staff at Argentine universities earn salaries below the poverty line. This is happening due to the economic policies implemented by Milei.
For this reason, starting next Monday, the Argentine University Federation (FUA) and university teachers will stage a 48-hour strike to demand negotiations that acknowledge the specific conditions of university workers and offer a solution to the severe salary situation.
On Wednesday, the far-right Milei administration began spreading narratives to justify possible repressive actions against those protesting in support of universities. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said that the demonstrators aim to provoke uprisings “in the Chilean style,” meaning protests involving Molotov cocktails and other forms of violent action.
However, the response from the university community was once again felt with the peaceful occupation of more than 80 buildings across the country, reported the newspaper Pagina 12.
teleSUR/ JF Sources: Pagina 12 – Ambito
