Argentina education protest sees clashes in Buenos Aires

Thousands of students, university staff, trade unionists and opposition activists demonstrated outside parliament in Buenos Aires on October 15 over higher education funding, with a smaller group clashing with police for about an hour.

The main protest remained peaceful, but dozens of mostly hooded demonstrators broke away and threw stones and other projectiles at police. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons.

The protest was the fifth over Argentina's education funding crisis since President Javier Milei took office in late 2023. It came after court rulings ordering the government to comply with a 2025 University Funding Law that requires more money for public universities.

The law calls for inflation-linked salary increases dated to December 2023, the restoration of student scholarships and more funding for university operations. Congress adopted the law, Milei vetoed it, and parliament later overruled the veto. The government has not implemented the law despite court rulings, including a Supreme Court decision in June.

Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva accused protesters of “wanting to sow chaos” and said on X that the right to protest was not a right to violence. Presidential spokesman Adrian Ravier said the law was “suspended” while the government pursued legal action.

The Center for National Economic Research of the University of Buenos Aires said public spending on universities fell by 41 percent in real terms in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2023.