Argentinian congress fails to overturn Milei university veto (original) (raw)

STORY: Tense scenes unfolded in Buenos Aires on Wednesday (October 10) after the latest setback for student protesters against Argentina's libertarian leader Javier Milei.

The lower house of Congress failed to gather enough votes to overturn President Milei's veto of a law that would have increased university funding.

For Milei, it is a victory amid mass protests against his cuts to education and healthcare.

Demonstrators clashed with police, shouting slogans and pushing against barricades as riot officers attempted to disperse the crowd.

"They are going after everything, and the worst thing is that we knew they would go after everything. They are attacking education, they are attacking culture and public health. They hate the people, they hate the working class, and they hate the poor. There is a lot of anguish."

Milei vetoed the bill last month, which had aimed to adjust public university funding to match Argentina’s high inflation.

Despite 160 lawmakers voting in favor of a veto override – it fell six votes short of the required two-thirds majority.

Although Milei's far-right party is a minority in Congress, it has allied with conservative lawmakers to block the opposition.

The president argues that the law would threaten fiscal stability during a severe economic crisis, with health, pension, and education spending facing the most significant cuts.

Under his austerity drive, high inflation has started to slow but Argentina is deep in recession and poverty rates have surged over 50%.

But opposition to the president's spending cuts, especially to education funding, still retains impassioned supporters.