March 8, 2002

Argentine Colleges Prepare for Austerity

By MICHAEL EASTERBROOK

Academics in Argentina braced for the worst last month as lawmakers debated a 2002 budget proposal that is unlikely to bring relief to the nation's embattled public universities.

Facing the worst economic crises in decades, the government of former president Fernando de la Rúa, who resigned in December, last year cut salaries of all state workers -- including university faculty and staff members -- by 13 percent and began withholding money for campus maintenance and