Thousands of students, teachers, university workers and health professionals came together this Wednesday in a massive federal march that extended into the afternoon in the plaza in front of Congress, and which took place simultaneously with the session in the Chamber of Deputies, where the presidential vetoes of the pediatric emergency and university financing laws were rejected.
The mobilization, however, also had a strong presence from a large part of the political spectrum, with representatives of the opposition and unionism mobilizing, in addition to social organizations and left-wing groups that gathered under the same demand from noon until around six in the afternoon.
From early on, columns began to converge, with student groups from the Argentine University Federation (FUA), teaching and non-teaching unions, representatives of the National Interuniversity Council (CIN), and local organizations arriving from inland provinces, present with flags, drums, and signs bearing messages in defense of the public university.
In addition, columns left from different points of the City with representation of diverse forces such as La Cámpora -which also included the demand for the release of Cristina Kirchner-, the Right to the Future Movement of Axel Kicillof -which arrived around 4 p.m. escorted by his chief advisor Carlos Bianco-, the Renewal Front of Sergio Massa, the Radical Civic Union and the left-wing groups that usually mobilize in this type of events.
There was also a large turnout from unions grouped within the CGT, as well as from the two CTAs: the Autonomous and the Workers' Associations. Representatives from ATE, the union headed by Rodolfo Aguiar, were also present.
Axel Kicillof greets people during the Federal University March in Congress. Photo: Cristina Sille.
The call, the third federal university mobilization of this phase of the conflict, simultaneously included rallies in other major cities such as Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, Mar del Plata, Bariloche, and Posadas. One of the global slogans was"Public universities and public hospitals are not negotiable."
In the mid-afternoon, shortly before the vote in Congress, doctors and healthcare workers read documents in front of the main stage and warned about the impact of funding restrictions on care and residency training. One demand was clear: budgets for universities and hospitals, adjusting the last allocations to reflect inflation.
The demonstration, like others previously organized by university sectors, was peaceful. There were chants in defense of the law and against Javier Milei, but overall the demonstration proceeded normally, within the framework of an operation controlled by the Ministry of National Security.
After the Chamber of Deputies rejected the presidential vetoes, protesters celebrated amid hugs, tears, and fireworks outside Congress.
On the eve of the vote, protesters chanted,"Deputies, deputies, we won't tell them again. If you don't overturn that veto, what a mess will break out." After the issue was decided in Parliament, the chant changed to"The homeland is not for sale."
Not only were professionals from the teaching sector present, but also doctors united in defense of the Garrahan Hospital, the other half of the protest, as the insistence on the pediatric emergency law, which guarantees more resources, was also debated in Congress this Wednesday.
The day ended with an orderly dispersion and a celebratory atmosphere for the protesters, who awaited the Senate's decision to overturn Milei's veto, including her decision to halt the package of laws that had been passed in August.
