Street Classroom: Public Lessons Protest Against Milei’s Austerity Measures

Original article: La calle como aula: clases en la vía pública contra el ajuste de Milei

Amid a 72-hour university strike in Argentina, dozens of teachers and students from the National University of Buenos Aires (UBA) took to the streets as classrooms, holding a public lesson directly outside the residence of Manuel Adorni, the Chief of Staff for President Javier Milei.

The choice of location was deliberate, as Adorni is under scrutiny by the judiciary for potential illicit enrichment, while public universities grapple with a severe budget and salary crisis due to cuts imposed by the far-right leader.

Since the start of the week, the block surrounding the Chief of Staff’s building has been secured by an unusual presence of security forces. Numerous federal police formed a line to separate the facade from the desks and flags set up by the educators on the street.

The demonstration was part of a three-day strike called by the UBA teachers’ union (AGDUBA), which began on Monday. Beyond the protest, educators aim to highlight a contradiction they see at the core of the libertarian administration: extreme precariousness in the functioning of higher education institutions, where a first-year assistant earns a mere 228,095 Argentine pesos (150,000 Chilean pesos) while the wealth of senior officials like Adorni contrasts starkly with their sworn declarations.

In an article for Página/12, journalist Camila Pace highlighted that “it was coincidental that Adorni’s apartment is located just around the corner from the Philosophy and Literature building and that public lessons were coordinated after the Chief of Staff held a press conference where he failed to explain the rapid growth of his wealth.”

“We heard him say he had plans to modify the University Financing Law, while it was revealed he has undeclared properties, plus jet trips and coaching courses his wife sells to public television,” stated Laura Carboni, general secretary of AGD UBA.

Universities Face Rat Infestations and Teachers Struggling to Make Ends Meet

Just a few meters from Manuel Adorni’s apartment, the UBA’s Faculty of Philosophy and Letters stands in a state of disrepair.

“We are in a situation where we cannot take classes properly, plus we have a rat infestation, and faculty and staff can hardly make it to the end of the month,” reported a member of the student group Ya Basta.

While Adorni was inside his apartment, across the police barrier, classes began at 10 AM on Monday, covering various topics that sought to link university issues with broader national problems. One discussion focused on the extractivism of natural resources, framed within the ongoing debate regarding the reform of the Glacier Law. Another session concentrated on macroeconomics, a direct nod to Milei, who often presents himself as an expert in this field.

“This is the President’s specialty, and we are here to discuss the numbers he likes to showcase,” Carboni remarked ironically. A third class revolved around the 50th anniversary of the coup d’état, remembering the university’s role during the dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla.

Milei’s Plan to Dismantle Public Higher Education

Among the desks, which were closely guarded by a line of police, students, neighborhood residents, and a sizable group of retirees, who mobilize weekly in defense of their income, mingled.

For Ileana Celotto, deputy secretary of AGDUBA, the diversity displayed in the mobilization is no coincidence.

“Education, healthcare, and public universities are for us, the community that inhabits it, but also for the entire population. And this government is emptying it,” she asserted.

Criticism of the La Libertad Avanza government goes beyond inadequate salaries. University unions accuse Milei’s administration of having a systematic plan to dismantle public higher education, pointing to the violation of the university financing law as undeniable proof, a situation that, they warn, is pushing institutions to the brink of operational collapse.

10,000 University Professors Resigned Due to Low Salaries

Statistics underscore the severity of the scenario facing the sector. According to data provided by the unions, since Milei took office in December 2023, approximately 10,000 university professors have resigned from their positions as their salaries are insufficient to support their livelihoods.

“Clearly, we need to take action to defend our pockets, our families, the participation of students so they can continue their studies, and to protect public universities for all working people in Argentina,” declared Ileana Celotto to Página/12, expressing the urgency that drives the educational community.

Protests to Highlight the Crisis in Underprivileged Neighborhoods

The day of protest was not confined solely to the educational realm in Caballito, as on Tuesday another group of demonstrators took their demands to the Indio Cua gated community in Exaltación de la Cruz.

There, the Adorni family owns a property registered in the name of the Chief of Staff’s wife, Bettina Julieta Angeletti, a residence that is also said to be undeclared. An assembly of the Union of Workers in the Popular Economy (UTEP) was present with the goal of “highlighting the crisis in underprivileged neighborhoods.”

The protest focused on rejecting the elimination of the “Return to Work” program, a governmental decision that, they claim, disproportionately affects community social workers, cooks at popular kitchens, and those involved in health prevention or child care.

Thus, what began as a union action in the educational sector transformed into a multifaceted protest unified under the figure of a Chief of Staff who, according to the demonstrators, embodies the contradictions of an ultra-right government that tightens austerity measures on the most vulnerable while its high officials increase their wealth.

*Featured Photo: El Nacional de Matanza