Milei’s administration questions university spending ahead of new protest

The Human Capital Ministry questioned spending by public universities in an attempt to rebut claims that the government is defunding higher education, as students, professors and university staff prepare to march on Tuesday afternoon demanding that the national administration comply with a law granting universities additional funding. On Monday, Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello and University Policies Undersecretary Alejandro Álvarez — who rarely give press conferences — spoke to reporters in order to give their point of view ahead of the protest, expected to be massive. The officials stated that while they are “not against any university,” they want to show the public “how the money is spent.” “That’s our spirit, nothing else. Not going against the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), nor any other public university,” Pettovello said during the meeting with journalists, which wasn’t televised. You may also be interested in: Judiciary suspends implementation of university funding law The ministry also released a video in which Álvarez questions some of public universities’ expenditures, especially targeting the UBA, Argentina’s largest university, which has claimed the government did not make any payments corresponding to university hospitals this year. “We defend education. We want to demystify that sacred monster that people defend without knowing that things are happening that are not right,” Pettovello stated, adding that the “cultural battle” is important for the government. “A political march” Pettovello and Álvarez said Tuesday’s protest is being used for political gain, and they want to show data to the public “so they can decide whether to support it without any political connotation.” The protest — the fourth organized by the public university community since the libertarian government took office — seeks to pressure the administration to comply with the university funding law, which President Javier Milei has rejected on the grounds that it conflicts with his zero-deficit policy. Protesters argue that the government is ignoring a law that was not only approved by Congress but also upheld after President Javier Milei vetoed it. The administration, however, maintains that the university funding law became void once Congress passed the 2026 Budget, which officials say supersedes the earlier legislation. Pettovello and Álvarez said that “the only law” they will comply with “is the budget law” and that while the demand for better salaries is “genuine,” the march is “strongly influenced by politics.” Criticisms In a video released on Monday, Álvarez questioned the idea that “the government is defunding universities”, saying that the state spends AR$400 million (US$283,000) on each graduate from the National University of Arts, while it spends AR$57 million (US$40,000) on an average graduate from all public universities in the country. “From the start of our administration, fear has been spread by falsely affirming that universities will be shut down, but no one wonders why we have one of the lowest graduation rates in the region,” Álvarez said. “Almost 40% of students don’t even pass any classes.” Argentina has some of the best-rated universities in the Americas, particularly public institutions. UBA was among the top 10 Latin American universities, according to the QS World University Rankings 2026. Seven Argentine universities, all public, were among the world’s top 10% in the 2025 global Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), released in June of last year. However, most slid down the rankings since 2024 amid the current funding cuts.