The Milei administration will appeal to the judiciary if Congress votes to overturn the president’s veto on legislation for new university funding, Economic Minister Luis Caputo confirmed on Sunday. 

“It’s wrong,” he told LN+, speaking of the bill that would increase the university’s budget. President Javier Milei has promised to veto any and all legislation that might adversely affect Argentina’s fiscal deficit.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the cost of the university spending bill amounts to just 0.14% of Argentina’s gross domestic product. Last year, the Economic Ministry submitted a report to Congress that found that “tax expenditures,” or benefits for specific sectors, amounted to 2.49% of GDP.

“I have to do what the law says, but it would be nice if the deputies and senators did the same,” Caputo said. “The financial administration says that Congress cannot present an expense without explaining how it will be financed.”

Milei previously vetoed legislation that would have ensured pensions kept pace with the rising cost of the basic food basket. Congress will hold a vote on the president’s newest veto Wednesday. 

“We have given everything to the universities,” the economic minister continued. “Politics is getting in the way here. All we have to say is: if you want to discuss whether teachers should earn more than other public officials, fine. Let’s debate it in Congress and define how it would be financed, no problem.”

“There is a clear fight between the old politics and the new,” he added. “We see transparency while the old pursues ostracism.” 

During the same interview, Caputo suggested that public universities should be audited, arguing that the University of Mothers of Plaza de Mayo graduated just 0.62% of its students. “That’s 100 million pesos per student,” he said. “It would almost be cheaper to send them to Harvard.”

Caputo also insisted that the Argentine economy is steadily improving and that “the worst is over.”

“Inflation has already gone down, the economy has begun to recover, the dollar is stable, and we are lowering taxes and tariffs,” he continued. “We are finally beginning to see the fruits [of our economic policies]. We are going to convince everybody, even the most skeptical. The reality will be irrefutable.”

On Wednesday, thousands of students and public university staffers across the country took to the streets to protest the government’s latest budget cuts. It was the second nationwide march since Milei assumed office in December 2023.