The Government maintained the loyalty of allies and also protected the veto on financing universities

The The opposition’s aspiration was that the influence of universities in the provinces would end up promoting new accompaniments or that causes absences. However, this strategy was applied by Pink House: added backups at the last minute from Holy Crossmore abstentions from Missions and lack of deputies who were going to vote against the veto in Córdoba and Catamarca (in this last case, from Unión por la Patria). This is how the number of 85 in favor of Javier Milei’s measure and 159 in support of university financing.

In his interventions, Freedom Advances He repeated arguments against “a partisanship that hurts educational quality” (Mercedes Llano), “chronic university students” (José Luis Espert) and that “the opposition does not want to lose its privileges and its funds” (Juliana Santillán). The PRO tried to qualify the criticism of the university administration (not so against the Peronist administration) and said he defended the governability of Javier Milei (“we are talking about the message that this venue is going to give to international markets,” he stated. Alejandro Finocchiaro).

From the yellow block, they are designated as the rational sector within the legislative tandem and, sooner rather than later, these emergencies in which they assist the Government will be charged. Inside the PRO The two increases announced by Casa Rosada for salaries in the last 24 hours are awardedwhich deputies who rejected the veto also mentioned: they understood that the advertisements represented the recognition of the deterioration of the purchasing power of university workers and that there were funds to restore them.

Budget 2025 and mobilization

The debate over Budget 2025 It began this Tuesday and, among the discussion about inflation and growth expectations, there are articles that directly affect the university financing: the minimum investment percentage that corresponds to you is eliminated National System of Science, Professional Technical Education and National Education. In addition, an investment of $3.8 billion is available to finance “operating expenses, investment and special programs of national universities”, but the National Interuniversity Council asks for close to double ($7.2 billion). The Government has already promised to review that number.

Another point was highlighted during the debate in committees by the deputy Itai Hagman (Unión por la Patria): “If the fiscal rule is a way to guarantee that the debt is always paid and what is always adjusted is public spending, […] How will investment in education, science and technology or pension spending grow at some point?”

While the joint wages of State workers continue with meager increases, which in the last two months were 3%, University teachers and non-teachers cannot aspire to a recomposition of the lost purchasing powerbecause the Government’s central argument is that they received the best increases in the public sector. The educational infrastructure, for its part, will be subject to the power of governors negotiationwhich will define the approval times of the project: in the veto vote, They tied the position of the deputies who respond to the promises of Casa Rosada.

mobilization Congress vetoes university financing

Student groups mobilized near Congress during the vote.

Mariano Fuchila

Another element that surrounded the context of this vote – which took place in a Congress surrounded by the Gendarmerie and Federal Police – was the prominence in the public debate that the students began to take. The Federal University March April 24 was the first setback in the image of Casa Rosada, which had repercussions in a second march and in a news of taking of faculties: already There are 33 in 22 universities in the country.

“This was not like the veto on retirements, which remained in a mobilization and that was it.. That is why we promoted the increases: so that the university community, and mainly the rectors, can rest assured that we do not want to close anything,” a deputy who participates every Monday in the Government’s legislative strategy meeting told Ámbito. After the veto is ratified, is there peace left?

Veto on university funding: how each block voted

The vote in the Chamber of Deputies against the veto of the university financing law was as follows:

• Negativesin favor of the veto (85): La Libertad Avanza, PRO (less Baldassi and González), MID, Independencia (Peronist Tucumán), four deputies from UCR (Arjol, Campero, Picat and Tournier) and José Luis Garrido (For Santa Cruz ).
• Affirmativesagainst the veto (159): Unión por la Patria, 27 from UCR, 13 from the Federal Meeting, Civic Coalition, Left Front, three from Federal Innovation (Calletti, Domingo and Outes) two from the PRO (Baldassi and González), Production and Work, Osvaldo Llancáfilo, (MPN) Lourdes Arrieta (FE) and Sergio Acevedo (Por Santa Cruz).
• Abstentions (5): Pablo Cervi (UCR) and four from Federal Innovation (missionaries Arrúa, Fernández, Ruíz and Vancsik)
• Absences (8): Oscar Zago (MID), Héctor Stefani (PRO), María Fernanda Ávila (Unión por la Patria), Jorge Ávila, Alejandra Torres, Ricardo López Murphy (all from Encuentro Federal), Yolanda Vega (Federal Innovation) and Fernando Carabajal (UCR).