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Government efforts against the clock to defuse the massive protest over budget cuts to the UBA - Infobae
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Gestiones contra reloj del Gobierno para desactivar la masiva protesta por los recortes de presupuesto a la UBA
El asesor presidencial Santiago Caputo y un subsecretario de Educación hablaron con el Vicerrector, pero no hubo acuerdo. A pesar de la propuesta de aumento, cerca de Milei dan por sentado que no podrán evitar la marcha del martes, que se perfila multitudinaria
www.infobae.com
April 20, 2024
The presidential advisor Santiago Caputo and an undersecretary of Education spoke with the Vice Chancellor, but there was no agreement. Despite the proposed increase, people near Milei assume that they will not be able to avoid Tuesday's march, which is shaping up to be massive.
By Brenda Struminger
Students from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) take class on the street in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday, April 18, 2024 (AP Photo/Víctor R. Caivano)
While the President was engaged in engaging with the elusive business community at the Llao Llao Forum in Bariloche, his main advisor, Santiago Caputo, exchanged messages with the vice-rector of the UBA, Emiliano Yacobitti about the conflict over the university budget. They have known each other since they were both active in the La Cantera organization of the Faculty of Social Sciences, when the advisor was studying Political Science, 15 years ago and they have a relatively fluid relationship. But later, when the Undersecretary of University Policies, Alejandro Álvarez , summoned the academic official to calm things down and formally transmit the proposal to increase the university budget, he received a blunt rejection.
The discomfort in public universities due to the lack of budget in the midst of adjustment and inflation increases as the hours pass. The attempts - late - by the Government to deactivate the massive march organized for Tuesday by the houses of higher education and their student centers do not bear fruit, while expressions of disapproval are replicated on social networks and some surveys began to reflect strong discontent. in public opinion due to the cut.
On alert for the explosive joint on a delicate issue, at the headquarters of the national government they follow closely and with some concern the growing conflict with the National Interuniversity Council (CIN) that caused assemblies, classes in public streets and protests . According to work by the consulting firm AdHoc, the conflict with the UBA and the salary increases that the senators granted themselves stimulated negativity in the President's digital reputation. And in the Casa Rosada, although they said that they do not have records of that style, they anticipate the impact that the bid may have, and assumed that next week's demonstration will be massive and impossible to stop. Thus, they stopped talking about vouchers and privatizations and made a proposal to increase funds.
Milei at the Llao Llao business forum in Bariloche
The way in which the Ministry of Human Capital led by Sandra Pettovello communicated its budget offer - at night, in a hurry, and with the word "agreement" in the title even though it was not like that - generated discomfort in the university environment . It was an unforced error, which the second official of the Secretary of Education, Carlos Torrendell , Álvarez tried to resolve today by calling Yacobitti to a face-to-face meeting. Despite the intention, the talk ended up being fruitless.
Although willing to negotiate in the context of crisis, those around the former deputy and radical leader assured that the economic proposal was “insufficient.” “The increase, in total, means 105 in the year. And inflation was 300. The salary of teachers and workers lost 36 percent of the real value in four months, when the rest of the employees lost 18. The situation of the workers is very serious, they start at 400 thousand pesos ", they said from the top of the university.
Yesterday Capital Humano had communicated that the allocations sent by the Treasury increased by 70% in March and that they were willing to give an equal increase in May, and they assured that it would be "a 140% recomposition."
At the headquarters of the national government they assured that for now they did not see social discontent over the issue reflected in their public opinion research, despite the fact that difficulties in paying public services resulted in dramatic power outages in some headquarters. They did admit that they have no way to deactivate Tuesday's march, which will even be attended by private students, such as the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE), and to which several representatives of the more distant opposition and the allied forces joined. including the former presidential candidate of Unión por la Patria, Sergio Massa.
At the university level, although they are up in arms about the increases, they ratified the protest, but agreed to resume conversations after Tuesday, after having shown the firepower generated by the defunding of public education. “The dialogue is good,” they slipped. From Education, meanwhile, they formally called the National Interuniversity Council for Tuesday, April 30, with an agenda focused on “financing, along with the audit and supervision processes of the Universities,” and the “officialization of the payment schedule to University Hospitals.” ”.
In Balcarce 50, without any intention of deepening the discussions, they stressed that there is “good predisposition” on the other side, and even valued a proposal, still informal, to evaluate the mechanisms so that the State continues to take charge of operating and current expenses but that universities charge an optional amount to graduates for academic development. “The ideal for us is that everything is privatized, but there may be other alternatives that are more in line with reality ,” they said in the president's circle.
