Thousands march on Congress

On Thursday, 15 October, students, university staff, trade unionists and opposition supporters gathered outside Congress in Buenos Aires to demand that the government implement the University Funding Law. The Federal University March was the fifth such protest since Javier Milei took office in December 2023, and social organizations and unions joined to demand wage rises and an end to austerity that also hits pensioners and people with disabilities. Estimates of the crowd vary: AFP counted several thousand people in the capital, while ABC described tens of thousands there and estimated about one million people nationwide. According to Clarín, the rally began calmly before the clashes started.

Clashes and arrests

After the rally had been under way for some time, masked people threw stones at a barrier protecting Congress, and police responded with tear gas and water cannon. According to AFP, officers also used rubber bullets, and the confrontations, mostly at a distance, lasted a little over an hour in the afternoon. The Security Ministry, cited by DW and AFP, reported at least 25 arrests, while ABC reported that more than 30 people were detained. Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva said the protesters wanted to 'sow chaos' and wrote on X that the right to protest is not 'a right to exercise violence'. The ministry's provisional count put eight police officers among the injured, La Nación reported ten, and ANSA said some protesters were hit directly by tear gas canisters.

The law and the government's refusal

Congress passed the University Funding Law in 2025. It requires salary increases for university staff in line with inflation dated to December 2023, restores student scholarships and provides more money for university operations. Milei vetoed the law, but Congress overrode the veto, and several court rulings have ordered the government to release the funds. The government has not released them and says the law is suspended because of its own legal action against it. Milei has justified the veto by saying there is 'no money' for inflation-linked pay rises. In June, Argentina's Supreme Court confirmed the law's legality and called for its implementation, according to DW. Emiliano Yacobitti, vice-rector of the University of Buenos Aires, urged the president to respect the law, saying:

“No one is above the law, not even the president.”

Budget cuts and the 2027 budget

ANSA cites industry studies that put the 2026 university budget 25.3% lower in real terms than the 2023 allocation. The Center for National Economic Research of the University of Buenos Aires, cited by DW, found that public university spending fell 41% in real terms in the first half of 2026. The 2027 budget law allocates 430 million euros to public universities, which ANSA reports is 33% less than rectors requested for salaries, infrastructure, research, scholarships and hospitals. That budget has added to the standoff over funding.

A conflict since 2024

The dispute over education spending has run since 2024, with students and staff returning to the streets repeatedly. In May, organizers said 1.5 million people took part in nationwide protests. Unions and other civil society groups joined the October march to demand the repeal of a broad presidential decree on economic deregulation that affects the rental market, according to Clarín. Since taking office, the government has also cut thousands of public-sector jobs, reduced subsidies and wound down social programmes.