Federal forces in Argentina fired tear gas and turned water cannons on thousands of peaceful demonstrators in Buenos Aires on Thursday, detaining at least 34 people during the fifth Federal University March.
The march demanded implementation of the University Financing Law and denounced a sustained squeeze on public university budgets.
The demonstrations were replicated in dozens of Argentine cities, with students, teachers and university staff joined by unions, social organizations and environmental groups demanding the full implementation of the University Financing Law.
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Protesters also denounced a sustained budget squeeze on public universities and rejected the ninth consecutive appeal filed by Javier Milei’s administration against court rulings that order the transfer of funds to the country’s higher education institutions.
The funding dispute has dragged on for months. Courts have repeatedly instructed the government to hand over the money set aside under the University Financing Law, and each ruling has been met with a new appeal from the national government. Thursday’s march was the fifth federal mobilization in a campaign that has grown beyond campuses to include unions, social organizations and environmental groups.
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Beyond the university budget, the crowd voiced opposition to Decree 70/23 and defended the Land Law. Speakers also called for salary increases, relief measures for indebted families and more resources for public institutions.
Arrests and Attacks on Press
According to local media, the police began repression outside the National Congress in Buenos Aires as a response to an incident of a group of about eight people, who started breaking street furniture and throwing objects against the fence surrounding Parliament. Despite being an isolated incident, the gassing affected those who marched peacefully. Witnesses warned of possible infiltrators.
At least 34 people were arrested and one woman was injured. Cameras captured a gas canister hitting her head. “The gas thing fell on my head, I don’t know how I am, I have to go to the hospital,” the woman, who gave her name as Andrea, told reporters covering the march.
For its part, the Buenos Aires City Police said in an official statement that its own force detained six people: two minors, aged 14 and 17, and four adults, three men and one woman, charged with assault and resistance to authority.
Press workers also was targeted. Photographer Guido Piotrkowski, who was covering the march, captured the moment when a Federal Police officer stepped out from behind the fence, aimed and fired at him. “They came out from behind the fences and started shooting; I was taking photos and they fired at us,” he said. “They hit me in the chest, another colleague in the leg, but they aimed directly. They were rubber pellets.”
According to the reports, another worker from a community media outlet had to be treated at a hospital after being hit by at least seven rubber bullets. Cameras from the C5N channel also recorded a man with his face covered handling a backpack in the middle of the square. When the reporter approached to speak with him, the man reacted violently and struck the cameraman.
Meanwhile, the session of the Chamber of Deputies called by the opposition collapsed for lack of quorum. A total of 121 legislators were present, eight fewer than required, and 136 were absent. The governing bloc thereby blocked debate on Decree 70/23.
The fifth Federal University March ended under a cloud of gas. The political dispute over who unleashed the violence now moves to Congress, where opposition lawmakers are pressing the security minister to account for the operation.
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