Financeupdated 1h ago3 min read
Police Fire Tear Gas as Thousands March in Buenos Aires for Milei University Funding Law
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Thousands march in Buenos Aires demanding implementation of the University Financing Law. Police used tear gas and water cannons against protesters near parliament.
13 outlets told this the same way.
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Protest Targets Funding Law
Thousands of students, graduates, teachers and university staff marched to Argentina’s Congress in Buenos Aires on Thursday to demand President Javier Milei’s government implement a law guaranteeing funding for public universities. Protesters called for increased university funding and salary adjustments outside Congress, and they demanded implementation of the University Funding Law to secure resources for universities, staff salaries and student scholarships. The fifth Federal University March coincided with an opposition effort to debate the repeal of Decree 70/2023, which Milei signed shortly after he took office in December 2023, and the opposition failed to secure the quorum needed to open the special session in the Chamber of Deputies.
A federal judge began fining the government 100,000 pesos (around $70) a day for failing to implement parts of the financing law, which requires Milei’s government to restore university salaries and student scholarships lost to inflation and regularly update budgets. Police used tear gas against protesters, according to local media, as authorities deployed security forces around Congress, erected barriers and restricted traffic.
Clashes, Arrests, and Injuries
In Buenos Aires, protesters crowded outside parliament to demand the implementation of a law to finance universities, and clashes erupted even as the rally was described as largely peaceful. DW said masked individuals threw stones at police, injuring at least eight officers, and it added that police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowds. The National Security Ministry said 25 people were arrested, and AFP reported that at least 25 people were arrested and eight police officers were injured, citing sources from the National Security Ministry.
Alejandra Monteoliva accused protesters of wanting to "sow chaos" and posted on her X account that the right to protest is not "a right to exercise violence." CNN en Español described the mobilization as reaching the Congress of the Nation, with Pilar Barbas saying the Milei government must allocate funds for the university and stop paying "miserable salaries" to teachers and non-teaching staff below the poverty line.
What Is at Stake Next
The protest centered on the University Funding Law, which requires that university budgets be adjusted monthly for inflation, and organizers said the lack of adjustments pushed the system to the breaking point. Argentina Reports quoted Martín Farina saying, "The government’s defunding hits first in the pocket," and it said the lack of adjustments drove an exodus of professionals who left their posts because of very low pay. DW said Milei vetoed a law passed by Congress in 2025 requiring the government to invest more money in public universities, and it added that Congress overrode the veto and court rulings instructed the government to release the funds but it has so far refused to do so.
“The government’s defunding hits first in the pocket.”
Al Jazeera said Milei’s plan is also having a profound impact on public education and welfare plans for people with disabilities, pensioners and others who depend on state support, while it quoted Emiliano Gato warning, "Our best professors are leaving en masse." CNN en Español said the Judiciary declared the unconstitutionality of the executive’s decision to suspend execution of the university budget law and ordered the Government to comply, while it reported that CIN said the 2027 Budget Bill does not include the allocations required by the University Financing Law and demands an increase of 33.4%.