Buenos Aires Herald 
The University of Buenos Aires (UBA) can only afford to stay open for another three months because of a lack of funding, rector Ricardo Gelpi has said. “If we run out of money, how can we keep going?” he told news channel C5N on Sunday evening.
Argentine public universities’ budgets have been frozen since the start of 2024. The national government has promised to send an infusion of cash, but Gelpi says the UBA has not yet received the funding.
UBA has over 100,000 students spread over 13 faculties, and four of Argentina’s Nobel laureates — Luis Federico Leloir, Bernardo Houssay, César Milstein, and Carlos Saavedra Lamas — studied there. The remaining laureate, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, studied at public National University of La Plata.
National universities across the country are facing similarly dire straits, with a massive march planned in Buenos Aires on Tuesday afternoon.
“If the money doesn’t come within a prudential timeframe, we will have to stop working,” Gelpi warned.
Earlier on Sunday, Interior Minister Guillermo Francos had said that if Gelpi’s response to the situation was to close the university, “he is not qualified to be head of UBA.”
“We don’t want to close,” Gelpi responded. “We want to study, research, carry out our social duties. What I did say is that, at the rate [the government] is sending us money, we can only stay open for another two or three months, depending on the faculty.”
Like ministries and other public bodies that depend on the national budget, funding for public universities has not been increased since Milei took office in December, despite yearly inflation running at 288%. Argentina did not approve a new national budget in 2022 or 2023, meaning the public administration has had the same budget since 2022. The government can provide additional funds to specific areas at its discretion.
The previous government provided additional funding to universities this way. However, President Javier Milei has decided to halt budget increases for many sectors in the context of his austerity plan.
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Two weeks ago, the University of Comahue in Patagonia announced that it had stopped paying for phone services and cut down on cleaning because it could no longer afford the bills. “It will be impossible to pay the next electric bill, much less the gas bill when the cold comes,” staff and students wrote in a statement.
Last week, UBA medical students were surprised to find the faculty of medicine almost pitch dark. The faculty’s management had decided to cut electricity use to the bare minimum, meaning lights could only be turned on inside classrooms. Use of elevators was reserved for students with reduced mobility. The building has 16 stories.
Representatives of public universities from across Argentina have called massive marches in Buenos Aires and other cities on Tuesday to protest the budget freeze and defend public education. On Thursday, the government announced a 70% increase in funding for March and another 70% increase in May.
However, the UBA rector said the money hasn’t hit the university’s accounts yet. “I hope the government can reconsider this situation and send the money so that we can continue working,” he said.
In Buenos Aires, the march will start on Tuesday at 3 p.m. from Congress to Plaza de Mayo. At 6 p.m., leaders of public universities will read a document in front of Casa Rosada. Universities from Buenos Aires City and Province confirmed their attendance. Teachers and students from private universities like Di Tella, San Andrés and UADE have confirmed they plan to march in support of the public sector.
UBA is considered to be one of the best universities in Latin America and the world, according to the British education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). In September, QS’ prestigious university ranking positioned UBA as 9th in Latin America and the best in Argentina, followed by La Plata National University. In October, QS named UBA among the top 100 universities in the world.
