Argentina
The 2027 Budget Foresees Less Funding for Universities and Keeps the Pressure on Science
The bill sent to Congress allocates 7.34 trillion pesos to national universities, below what rectors are demanding. It also includes funding for scientific agencies tied to an official inflation rate of 18% and nominal cuts for INTA and INTI.
The 2027 Budget bill sent by the Executive Branch to Congress maintains a restrictive approach toward the scientific system and national universities, two areas that were already being affected by funding problems.
According to Perfil and Crónica, scientific system agencies such as CONICET, CONAE, CNEA and Agencia I+D+i will receive allocations calculated on the basis of the 18% inflation projected by the Government for 2027. If that estimate is not met and prices rise above that target, those agencies would once again lose financing capacity in real terms.
According to both outlets, those sectors have still not recovered the 35% drop in their real income since December 2023. The outlook is more severe for INTA, which would see a nominal cut in allocations of 12.4% in 2027, and for INTI, with a nominal decline of 5.2%.
Perfil and Crónica also noted that INTA has accumulated a real cut of more than 43% since 2024, while INTI’s cumulative decline is around 49%. Both agencies are also carrying a massive loss of staff, according to those reports.
For national universities, the bill sets a total allocation of 7.34 trillion pesos. That figure is below the more than 11 trillion requested by the Consejo Interuniversitario Nacional, which brings together the country’s rectors. That sector also argues that the requested amount is insufficient and is demanding compliance with the current University Funding law, according to the two outlets.
The text also includes a clause that university authorities have questioned. Chapter II requires universities to report the purpose of their spending to the Ministerio de Capital Humano and authorizes the Executive Branch to suspend transfers if they fail to meet that requirement. Rectors and authorities warn that this provision affects university autonomy and are anticipating a scenario of conflict.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do its own reporting on this event.
