Overview
- At a Budget Committee hearing in the Chamber of Deputies, Education Secretary Carlos Torrendell and University Policy Undersecretary Alejandro Álvarez defended the 2026 proposal and said the university financing law cannot be applied without a defined funding source.
- Álvarez cited fiscal constraints and a no‑emission policy, put the 2026 education budget at 4.8 trillion pesos, described a 14% rise over this year’s executed level, and asserted that universities received full funding for current activities with extra support for health.
- Torrendell argued that past programs reflected waste rather than learning gains, while outlining plans to reorganize the university information system to drive allocations with verifiable indicators.
- Opposition lawmakers and education groups rejected the government’s stance, calling the plan a severe cut and disputing claims of satisfactory university financing, with Unión por la Patria deputies challenging the lack‑of‑financing argument.
- The proposal eliminates three long‑standing financing tools — the 6% of GDP education floor, the technical education fund, and the 1% of GDP science target — as debates continue and Minister Sandra Pettovello’s absence drew notice after Torrendell stumbled in explaining it.