A federal judge fined Argentina’s cabinet chief, Diego Santilli, 100,000 pesos (about US$65 at the official exchange rate) a day on Wednesday for not obeying an order to apply the University Financing Law, a day before the fifth national university march.
Judge Martín Cormick, of Federal Administrative Court No. 11 in Buenos Aires, wrote that he had found a “verified breach” of the injunction, which requires the government to update the pay of university teachers and non-teaching staff and the funds for student scholarships. He was carrying out a warning he issued on September 30, after two five-day deadlines passed.
The sum is small, but it falls on a named official rather than on the state in general. Cormick based the choice on the Constitution, which makes the cabinet chief responsible for running the administration, and on the 2026 budget law, which lets that office move money between budget lines. He set the amount “in a first stage” and said both the figure and the officials covered can change.
“It is important not only that he set a daily fine, but that he did it by holding a specific authority responsible and not the State in the abstract,” said Franco Bartolacci, president of the National Interuniversity Council (CIN), the body of university rectors that brought the case.
The government says it is complying. It told the court it has raised university pay 226.80% since December 2023, above the 226.40% it says was due through August 2025, and offered a further 3% for September. It also argues the injunction does not say how much it must pay. The university system estimates that full application of the law implies a raise of about 33%.
Cormick has granted the government’s appeal against his October 6 ruling, described in our earlier report on the decree ruling, which declared the decree clause that froze the law unconstitutional, and sent the case to the federal appeals court. The injunction stays in force. El Cronista reported that the government will appeal the fine as well.
Separately, Gabriel Solano, a leader of the Workers’ Party (Partido Obrero), filed a criminal complaint at the federal courts in Comodoro Py on Wednesday against Milei and Economy Minister Luis Caputo, alleging disobedience of a court order and breach of official duties. A complaint is not a charge; a prosecutor decides whether to open an investigation.
Teachers’ unions, student federations and the CIN will march to Congress on Thursday, October 15. The University of Buenos Aires contingent gathers at Plaza Houssay at 1 p.m. and sets off an hour later, and the main rally at Plaza del Congreso is set for 4 p.m. The government’s 2027 budget bill offers 7.3 trillion pesos (US$4.8bn) for the universities, and the rectors are asking for 11 trillion (US$7.2bn).