Thousands March in Argentina Over University Funding Law
The Facts
- Thousands of students, lecturers and union members marched on Congress in Buenos Aires and in other Argentine cities Thursday to demand that President Javier Milei's government implement the University Funding Law, which adjusts university budgets and salaries for inflation. It was the fifth such federal march.
- The main rally remained peaceful, though dozens of mostly hooded demonstrators threw stones at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. At least 25 people were detained and several were injured, including members of the security forces.
- Federal judge MartÃn Cormick ordered on Wednesday that Chief of Staff Diego Santilli pay a 100,000-peso ($65) fine for each day the government fails to implement the law. Local media reported the administration would appeal.
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The Spin
Government-critical narrative
Ignoring a funding law Congress passed, saw vetoed, then revived and then brushing aside court orders on top of that turns a presidency into a one-man rule. Public universities keep training doctors, teachers and scientists on a gutted budget. Answering a peaceful crowd that asks for nothing more than compliance with the law with tear gas only proves the point.
Pro-government narrative
Shutting faculties and calling strikes month after month does nothing for anyone who actually wants to sit in a classroom. Plenty of students wanted lectures, not locked gates, cut streets and chaos. Hurling stones at police has nothing to do with defending education and everything to do with destabilizing an elected government before its term is up.
