A similar law was vetoed by the President last year. The initiative proposes automatically adjusting the operating costs of educational institutions for inflation and calling for collective bargaining agreements for teachers and non-teaching staff.
The Chamber of Deputies took an important step this Wednesday by approving, with 158 votes in favor and 75 against, a bill seeking to increase funding for national universities and improve working conditions at these institutions. The initiative, which also proposes collective bargaining for teachers and non-teaching staff, follows the path of a similar law that was vetoed by President Javier Milei last year.
The approval of this bill comes amid a tense session for the ruling party, which also included issues on its agenda such as the pediatric emergency, resulting from the crisis at Garrahan Hospital, and the reforms promoted by the governors regarding the sharing of taxes from liquid fuels.
Despite political tensions, the bill advanced thanks to the support of opposition blocs, including the Union for the Homeland, Democracy Forever, Federal Encounter, Civic Coalition, Left Front, and the UCR, among others. However, the initiative fell short of the two-thirds vote required for a special majority, leaving open the possibility of a presidential veto.
Danya Tavela, a representative from the Democracy for Forever party, questioned the national government, accusing it of failing to fulfill its obligation to submit the Budget Law and holding the Executive Branch responsible for the current situation of the university system. “We have never experienced this situation. Not even in the dark 1990s, when then-President Carlos Menem was trying to privatize and impose fees on the university system,” Tavela said.
For her part, Representative Gabriela Brouwer de Koning (UCR) defended the need to invest in education and stated that"if we want Argentina to grow, we must have an intelligent state that prioritizes education, science, and technology." She agreed with Oscar Agost Carreño (Encuentro Federal), who emphasized that"investing in universities does not contradict fiscal responsibility."
From the ruling party, libertarians like Santiago Santurio criticized the fiscal cost of the measure, arguing that the fiscal surplus cannot be compromised in the midst of the economic crisis. Nadia Márquez, also from the Libertarian bench, emphasized that"we are not going to throw away all the efforts we Argentines are making to avoid deficits and prevent inflation."
This issue, along with the reform of National Treasury Contributions (ATN) and the Fuel Sharing Law, will mark the agenda for the next debate in the Lower House. However, the lack of consensus on these bills and internal tensions within the ruling party and among governors could further complicate the outlook for Milei's administration.
https://t.co/whakJNoXxh
