University Strike in Argentina: Unions Accuse Milei of Undermining Education Financing Law with «Poverty Budget»

Original article: Semana de paro universitario en Argentina: gremios acusan a Milei de vaciar la ley de financiamiento y presentar un presupuesto “de miseria”

In an environment of heightened tension between Javier Milei’s government and Argentina’s public university system, teaching unions initiated a week-long national strike starting today across all universities in Argentina. The action, called by the National Federation of Teachers, Researchers, and University Creators (Conadu Histórica), centers on the allegation that the so-called «libertarian» administration has rendered the University Financing Law ineffective by enacting it without allocated funds, coupled with the presentation of a «poverty budget» for the education sector in 2026.

Last week, the 27 unions representing university teachers that form part of Conadu Histórica announced the halt of all activities taking place from December 1 to 6.

«The federal assembly of general secretaries resolved to hold a week-long strike in response to the national government’s failure to comply with the university financing law and the corresponding salary increase, which currently amounts to 43.95% due to inflation recorded since July,» stated a press release from the Teaching Guild Association (AGD) of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), a member of Conadu Histórica.

The salary demand is directly linked to the law. Antonio Rosselló, a teacher and member of the Executive Boards of AGD-UBA and Conadu Histórica, explained to El Destape that «this figure is neither arbitrary nor a whim. It is derived from the strict application of the university financing law.»

Rosselló elaborated on the need for comprehensive financing, suggesting that «the university budget needs to be tripled to effectively support the creation, research, science, technology, sustain pre-university schools that serve as pilot schools for pedagogical projects to improve overall education, and to maintain teaching and learning methodologies, increasing graduation rates at universities, as well as developing individual and collective projects for social advancement and national autonomy that provide competent university professionals for the country’s development.»

The strike also extends in «rejection» of the proposed 2026 Budget Law, which the far-right government seeks to address in extraordinary sessions. The same AGD-UBA statement labeled it a «misery budget for education» and stated, «the conflict remains unresolved while our salary increase continues to be frozen and our wages remain below the poverty line.»

Maximum Alert: 2026 Academic Year at Risk

Simultaneously, Conadu, another major federation within the sector, has issued a grave warning about the upcoming academic year, stating that «without the implementation of the University Financing Law, classes will not commence in 2026.»

In a press release, they detailed that, with the participation of 30 unions, they decided that «a strong plan of struggle would be initiated in 2026 that would include not starting the regular class cycle if the law is not fully implemented.»

«The situation of the university is extremely critical, and if the government does not provide a solution, the consequences of this historical underfunding of higher education will lead to a crisis that will take years to reverse,» explained Carlos De Feo, the General Secretary of Conadu.

Milei’s «Trap»: Enacting the Law but with No Funds

The conflict originates from the way the Executive Power enacted the law, after being pushed by the Argentine Congress. In the Official Bulletin of October 21, President Milei stated that the law «will be suspended in its execution until the honorable Congress of the Nation determines the sources of its financing and includes in the national budget the items necessary to meet the expenditures required for its implementation.» The decree argued that the law «only permits a readjustment of budget items» without specifying the necessary credits.

For the unions, this constitutes a maneuver to render the law ineffective, stripping away the parliamentary support it received twice: first upon approval and then when rejecting the presidential veto.

The struggle of Argentina’s national universities against the measures and cuts imposed by the «libertarian» government has entered a decisive phase. The teachers, with a week of strike and the threat of not starting the next academic year, demand a 180-degree turn in the austerity policy that they claim is leading the public higher education system towards an irreversible collapse.