At a press conference, the rector called on Santa Fe representatives to vote against the veto of the Financing Law. There will be a march tomorrow.
It's a busy week for the Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR) is participating in the protests, the vigil, and the march taking place this Wednesday at 16:2026 p.m. in Plaza San Martín while the National Congress moves forward with the presidential veto of the University Financing Law. At the same time, the UNR, like the rest of the university system, warns that yesterday's announcement is insufficient and is demanding a real increase in the 24 budget. At the same time, in a press conference this morning, university professors grouped under the umbrella of Coad declared a 17-hour strike for this Wednesday, September XNUMX, and called for massive participation in the federal university march.
UNR Rector Franco Bartolacci anticipated that a major demonstration is expected in Rosario and across the country. "We arrived here in a very precarious state of the university and scientific system. We are clear that, when necessary, Argentine society demonstrated in a moving and forceful way in support of the public university and national science. Tomorrow, we need exactly the same thing to happen," he stated.
While the demonstration is taking place in Rosario and Buenos Aires, and in every city where a public university is located, a very important session will be held in the National Congress. "National legislators have the responsibility to address the university financing law. We ask them to act responsibly, to understand that the present and future of young generations of Argentines who want to study at a public university are at stake in this decision."
Bartolacci specifically targeted legislators who had the opportunity to study at a public university. "We ask many representatives, both men and women, who are also members of our community because they are university professors, that when they have to raise their hands tomorrow in the National Congress, they think about the opportunities they had and guarantee equal opportunities for future generations, that they act as worthy children of the Argentine Public University," he proclaimed, and anticipated: "If there is no financing law, we will have many difficulties making it to the end of the year and carrying out our activities normally, and if there is no reasonable 2026 budget, next year will be even more complex."
Regarding last night's national broadcast announcements, the rector stated that "unfortunately, there has been no news for the scientific university system." He added: "There are two ways to analyze an announcement: in perspective of what is desired or expected, and in relation to what is actually happening. In the first case, we are far behind. The National Interuniversity Council (CIN), which is the body that brings together all the country's public universities, always has the responsibility every year to submit what it considers necessary for universities to function properly before the Executive Branch sends the proposal to the National Congress. A couple of weeks ago, when we met in Rosario, we submitted a budget proposal to the national authorities that included 7.3% of the budget; this is far from the 4.8% announced by the president."
“The other way to measure it is to put it in perspective with what we are actually receiving, and the bad news is that the increase for 2026, as announced, is practically zero. It's as if they had taken what the university system will receive in December 2025 and annualized that value for all of 2026. It can't even account for the inflation projected by the national authorities in the proposal they submitted to Congress,” the rector warned.
And he pointed out a "detail" of the presidential announcement. "When he makes announcements regarding other areas, he talks about percentage increases, and when he talks about universities, he sets a number, but he doesn't mention a percentage increase, and he doesn't say so because there isn't one. So, this consolidates a policy of underfunding and austerity that we want to warn against again, with great responsibility, which creates many difficulties for universities across the country."
We've been saying this since last year, and perhaps we're tired of our expressions, but precisely because we didn't want to get to this point. To give you an idea, we lost 30% of our budget in real terms last year. We've lost an additional 10% this year, and if things continue as they are and the proposal isn't amended in Congress, it'll be a similar situation next year. The situation is unsustainable as it is.
Bartolacci pointed to another example of the budget gap with the increase in services: “Three years ago, we allocated 3% of operating expenses to pay for basic services such as electricity, water, gas, and security. Last year, that increased to 10% of the operating budget. Today, we're almost at 30%. There's no way to sustain all we do if we don't reverse this situation.”
Finally, before traveling to Buenos Aires, the rector announced that meetings with representatives are ongoing. "We have been speaking with all the legislators in Santa Fe and in all the provinces, the authorities, and all the universities are doing the same, with those who supported the financing law and with those who did not—with everyone, to confirm our position or to share our assessment and try to convince everyone of the importance of upholding this in Congress. I have the expectation and hope that we can uphold the law in Congress."
Meanwhile, Federico Gayoso, secretary general of Coad, announced the call for a 24-hour strike tomorrow and explained the nature of the protest. "Yesterday we had a faculty assembly at the Faculty of Humanities and Arts, in which the majority voted to hold a 24-hour strike on the same day as the march. We will gather at 16:XNUMX p.m. in Plaza San Martín."
"The vigil will be held afterward at the Galpón de la Juventud, following the session of the deputies live. What was resolved is that as soon as we know the result of the vote, we will reconvene in an assembly to analyze what happened and see how we proceed. If the veto is overturned, the Senate would first have to ratify it, and then what we're seeing from the Executive Branch, for example, what it's doing with the disability law, is another delaying tactic, and I would say undemocratic."
"Now they say they're going to enact it, but they're not going to regulate it, so we really don't know how long it will take for it to be applied, so I think it would be a very important step for this law to be approved, but I think that approval alone won't solve the problem. I think we're going to have to fight for it to be implemented and actually executed," Gayoso reflected.
Miguel Roldán, general secretary of APUR, the non-teaching union, also stated: “It's very suggestive here that the much-needed money appeared yesterday. Lyrical, philosophical, and declamatory rhetoric are already superfluous. This is fixed with money here. The person speaking to you has been in this business for a few years. That doesn't mean they know more than everyone else. But this is dangerous. Someone said that conscience is in the air, but conscience belongs to the people. And an Argentine who served in politics—I don't want to mention his name to avoid raising personal and partisan issues—said that every person has a price on their conscience. The question is how much that person's price is worth. And if we are here, these people and we want everything the rector said—that they care for the citizens, that they care for the doctors, that they care for education, that they care for everything—that is the general desire of the country. We will continue. Whether it turns out well or badly. That is the pure truth.”
Finally, Alejo Rossi, head of the Rosario University Federation (FUR), spoke about the difficult 2025 that students are facing. “We're all going to be on the river because there's going to be an event called the UNR Career Expo, with all the proposals for next year. The idea is to focus on that, to have a central focus, and to be able to wait for the resolution of the discussion in Congress. We students are in a difficult year. All students have to work, some with more than one job. The situation is becoming increasingly complex. Before, a family would plan to be able to support their son, daughter, and family in Rosario, year by year; that evaluation is almost month by month. There are also strikes, with just demands, which we've also supported, but it's been a very difficult year. I can assure you that all students understand the situation, that they're going to join the university march, that the graduates will also participate. I'm marching with my dad, my mom, my family, my grandparents, and that's going to bear fruit tomorrow: it's going to be a great march; we're going to fill the streets.”
What the march in Rosario will be like
On Wednesday, September 17, a new Federal University March will take place across the country, seeking to highlight the importance of guaranteeing funding for public higher education. The event will take place simultaneously in different provinces, within the framework of the debate over the University Financing Law, which was vetoed by the executive branch last week and now returns to Congress.
In Rosario, the rally will begin at 16:950 p.m. in Plaza San Martín, where students, faculty, non-teaching staff, and university authorities are expected to participate. From there, the column will march toward Puerto Joven (Av. Belgrano XNUMX), passing through Moreno, San Lorenzo, and San Martín streets. This space will also host the university's Expocarreras event. Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR) on September 17, 18, and 19, which will allow the visibility of the defense of the university system to be articulated with one of the most important academic promotion activities of the institution.
The agenda of activities includes a key event at 17:30 p.m., which will feature a live broadcast of the session of the National Chamber of Deputies, where the implementation of the budgetary regulation will be discussed. This event will be key to the future of public universities, which are experiencing a period of significant uncertainty due to the lack of certainty regarding the resources that will guarantee their operations.