Photos: Argentina protesters march against Milei’s public university cuts

Argentinian university students, unions and social groups protest in front of the Casa Rosada presidential office in Buenos Aires to condemn President Javier Milei's 'chainsaw' cuts to public education. [Agustin Marcarian/Reuters]

Hundreds of thousands of Argentines have taken to the streets to voice outrage at cuts to higher public education under budget-slashing President Javier Milei, protest organisers say.

Joined by professors, parents and alumni from the 57 state-run universities in the economic crisis-riddled South American country, students rose up on Tuesday “in defence of free public university education”, they said.

Labour unions, opposition parties and private universities backed the protests in Buenos Aires and other major cities, such as Cordoba, in one of the biggest demonstrations yet against the austerity measures introduced since Milei took office in December.

Police said about 100,000 people turned out in the capital alone while organisers put the number at closer to half a million, who paralysed the city centre for hours.

A teachers union reported a million protesters countrywide.

Third-year medical student Pablo Vicenti, 22, told the Agence French-Presse news agency in Buenos Aires that he was outraged at the government’s “brutal attack” on the university system.

“They want to defund it with a false story that there is no money. There is, but they choose not to spend it on public education,” he said.

Milei won elections in November, promising to take a chainsaw to public spending and reduce the budget deficit to zero.

To that end, his government has slashed subsidies for transport, fuel and energy even as wage earners have lost a fifth of their purchasing power.

Thousands of public servants have lost their jobs, and Milei has faced numerous anti-austerity protests.

His government dismissed Tuesday’s protests as “political”.

Raising their textbooks and diplomas and singing the national anthem, hundreds of thousands of Argentinians fill the streets of Buenos Aires and other cities on April 23, 2024. [Martin Villar/Reuters]

Students and professors coordinated with Argentina's powerful trade unions and leftist political parties to push back against budget cuts that have forced Argentina’s most venerable university to declare a financial emergency and warn of imminent closure. [Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo]

The scale of the demonstration in downtown Buenos Aires appeared to exceed other massive demonstrations that have rocked the capital since Milei came to power in December. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]

Describing universities as bastions of socialism where professors indoctrinate their students, Milei has tried to dismiss the university budget crisis as politics as usual. [Agustin Marcarian/Reuters]

"Why are you so scared of public education?" banners read. "The university will defend itself!" students shout. [Agustin Marcarian/Reuters]

A student holds a sign that reads, "Without science there's no future," during the march. [Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo]

Students, teachers and workers snake through Buenos Aires's streets just hours after Milei declared economic victory from his presidential palace. [Martin Villar/Reuters]

The University of Buenos Aires says more than 500,000 people took part in the protest in the capital alone. [Agustin Marcarian/Reuters]

About 2.2 million people study in the public university system. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]