Argentina's president announced a measure allowing public universities to charge fees to foreign students
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said on Friday (December 29, 2023) that the country will repatriate 20,000 Colombians studying in Argentina and help finance their studies. The statement is in response to an excerpt from the bill sent to Congress by Argentine President Javier Milei.
The text stipulates that education at public universities will remain free for Argentine citizens and foreigners with permanent residence in the country. However, educational institutions may “charge fees” for nonpermanent foreign students that is, those staying in the country on a temporary visa. Here is the full text of the document in Spanish (PDF 2 MB).
In publication in XPetro said that the 20,000 Colombian students were “literally expelled from Argentina” and that for them “the socalled 'freedom' does not exist.”
The Colombian president wrote: “We will ensure that they can continue their studies in Colombia without major obstacles and also free of charge.”
The project sent by Milei to Congress was loosely translated as “Law of the Foundations and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines.” It consists of 183 pages and 664 articles.
The package includes new state reform measures and changes to the country's electoral and criminal laws. In addition to the reforms, the text declares “a public emergency in economic, financial, tax, social security, security, defense, customs, energy, health, administrative and social issues until December 31, 2025.” with the possibility of an extension for another 2 years.
The document contains an article ratifying the DNU (Decree on Necessity and Urgency), a supereconomic deregulation package announced on December 20. The announcement sparked protests in Argentina on Wednesday (December 27).