Through an administrative decision, the government of Javier Milei modified the 2026 budget, implementing cuts of nearly 2.5 trillion pesos, which included significant reductions in funding for education and universities. The amount of the cuts represents approximately 1.6 percent of the budget.
The main changes include adjustments related to pension debts and the retirement plan of the National Social Security Administration (ANSES), but cuts were also made to the education budget in the lead-up to a national university protest, which will take place tomorrow in the Plaza de Mayo.
The national government cut $78,768,179,759 from programs within the Secretariat of Education and suspended transfers for infrastructure projects at national universities, according to Administrative Decision 20/2026, published in the Official Gazette.
According to the attached expense sheet for the national administration, the largest cut affected the "National Literacy Plan," which lost $35,288,051,713. This reduction primarily affected direct transfers to the provinces for its implementation.
In addition, the Executive Branch eliminated the "Teacher Salary Compensation Fund" for $8,929,835,294, a mechanism intended to equalize the minimum salaries of teachers in the provinces.
In school infrastructure and equipment, the cuts reached $21,686,636,818, while the "Educational Management and Socio-Educational Policies" program suffered a reduction of $6,649,536,53…
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Through an administrative decision, the government of Javier Milei modified the 2026 budget, implementing cuts of nearly 2.5 trillion pesos, which significantly impacted education and universities. This reduction represents approximately 1.6 percent of the total budget. The main changes include adjustments for pension debts and the ANSES voluntary retirement plan, but cuts were also made to the education budget ahead of a national university protest, which will culminate tomorrow in Plaza de Mayo. The national government cut $78.768 billion from programs within the Secretariat of Education and suspended funding for infrastructure projects at national universities, according to Administrative Decision 20/2026, published in the Official Gazette. According to the attached expense sheet of the national administration, the largest cut affected the "National Literacy Plan," which lost $35.288 billion. This reduction primarily affected direct transfers to provinces for implementation. Additionally, the executive branch eliminated the "Teacher Salary Compensation Fund" for $8.929 billion, a mechanism intended to equalize minimum salaries for provincial teachers. In school infrastructure and equipment, the cuts reached $21.686 billion, while the "Educational Management and Socio-Educational Policies" program was reduced by $6.649 billion, including a decrease of over $559 million in student scholarships. The state-owned company EDUC. AR S.A. also lost transfers totaling $48 billion, according to information obtained by the Argentinian news agency, Noticias Argentinas, from official documentation. National universities, organizers of Tuesday's protest, were also affected by the budget cuts. The appendix detailed a reduction of $5.303 billion in capital transfers for knowledge infrastructure, impacting construction projects at thirteen institutions. Among the most affected universities are the National University of La Plata, with a reduction of $1.043 billion; the National University of General San Martín and the National University of Avellaneda, both with cuts of $700 million; Río Cuarto, with a reduction of $680.5 million; and Entre Ríos, with a decrease of $540 million. The official measure was signed by the Chief of Staff, Manuel Adorni, and the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, and also includes modifications to budget allocations for the Council of the Judiciary and the redistribution of positions within the national structure. Article 3 increases the ceiling set by Article 40 of Law No. 27,798 for the payment of judicial rulings related to pension claims and debts established in settlement agreements under Law No. 27,260 by $500 billion. The new limit is set at $712.288 billion. According to the regulation, this increase is due to retroactive adjustments made to benefits within the Argentine Integrated Pension System (SIPA). ANSES, a decentralized agency under the Sub-Secretariat of Social Security of the Ministry of Human Capital, is responsible for making these payments. In addition, the decision also includes an increase in personnel expense credits to finance the Voluntary Retirement Plan for ANSES staff. Therefore, $162 billion was incorporated as a figurative transfer from the National Treasury, under the category of "Personnel Expenses." The budget adjustment also affects the Council of the Judiciary, an organ of the National Judicial Branch. The increase is expressed as $115.194 billion for personnel expenses in the "Central Activities" program and $22 billion for equipment in the "Highest Instance Justice" program. According to the rationale of the measure, the modification aims to enable its normal functioning, with a detailed distribution by programs and items in the appendices. In addition to the budget reallocations, further cuts were made to various approved items in the 2026 budget in order to reinforce the fiscal surplus target agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The largest cut was in "Other Financial Assistance - economic services -" related to National Treasury obligations, amounting to $1.47 trillion, in line with the reduction in subsidies and increases in public service rates. Following in importance by amount: