Cars squealed to a stop. Motorcycles veered. Some drivers shouted curses and gave each other the finger. As the University of Buenos Aires demonstrators occupied lane after highway lane, others pumped their fists in unison, screaming, “Public and free education!” Their anxiety transformed into breathless, dizzying excitement as they yelled against libertarian President Javier Milei’s cuts to university funding.
Ivan Rocha, an architecture student, fought to be heard over the honking and singing, saying, “We’re here for our teachers, to demand that they get decent salaries.”
Road blockades last week were the most recent in a wave of demonstrations that are predicted to spread throughout Argentina this month in response to Milei’s veto of a bill that would have increased public university financing. On Monday, many professors went on strike for 48 hours.
According to the Associated Press, the self-declared “anarcho-capitalist” president, who was elected in November 2023 on a platform of undoing decades of unchecked spending, has promised to reject any attempt to thwart his zero-deficit plan.
After his legislative triumph, Milei attacked public colleges as hives of radical leftists with excessive administrative bloat, saying, “They are only interested in their coffers to maintain their privileges.” An examination of the massive University of Buenos Aires, or UBA,’s use of public funds was launched by authorities on Monday.
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