Thousands march in Argentina in defense of public universities

(24 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Buenos Aires, Argentina - 23 April 2024
1. Various of thousands demonstrating at Plaza de Mayo ++OVERLAID WITH SOUND FROM SHOT 2++
2. Man playing drums
3. Various of protesters with a large Argentina flag
4. Protesters with a Wiphala Indigenous flag
5. Protesters carry a caricatures of Argentine President Javier Milei chanting UPSOUND (Spanish) "Milei, garbage, you are the dictatorship"
6. University faculty chanting
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Emiliano Yacobitti, vice-rector of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA):
"The meaning of the march is to defend the Argentine public university, which is the main tool for social equality. Without equal opportunities and the possibility of progress for the impoverished, there is no equality. Without equality, there is no freedom whatsoever possible."
8. Various of students jumping and chanting UPSOUND (Spanish): "Those who don't jump voted for Milei"
STORYLINE:
Students, teachers, rectors, unions and social organizations demonstrated on Tuesday in different Argentine cities in protest against the precarious situation of dozens of public universities due to the lack of budget by President Javier Milei's austerity policies.
Thousands of protesters marched from Congress in Buenos Aires - heavily guarded by security forces - to the Plaza de Mayo, where the government house is located.
Since last July, when the fiscal year began, the 200-year-old University of Buenos Aires, or UBA, has received just 8.9% of its total budget from the state as annual inflation now hovers near 290%.
The university says that’s barely enough to keep lights on and provide basic services in teaching hospitals that have already cut capacity.
Declaring a financial emergency, UBA warned last week that without a rescue plan, the school would shut down in the coming months, stranding 380,000 students mid-degree.
This news is a shock for Argentines who consider a free and quality university education a national birthright. UBA has a proud intellectual tradition, producing five Nobel Prize winners and 17 presidents.
Overall, Argentina puts about 4.6% of its gross domestic product into education. Critics of the university system say the budget cuts also are an attempt to raise efficiency and increase fiscal transparency.
The government said late Monday that it was sending $24.5 million to public universities and another $12 million to keep medical centers operating.
University authorities disagreed, saying the promised transfer-which they still have not received-covers just a fraction of what they need. When accounting for inflation, that means a 61% annual budget cut for UBA.
It also won’t help the income of teachers, whose salaries have declined by more than 35% in the past four months with staff salaries as low as $150 a month.
AP Video by Victor R. Caivano
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