The scientific community in Argentina faces an unprecedented funding crisis under President Javier Milei’s administration, with researchers and international observers describing the situation as “scienticide” - the systematic destruction of scientific capacity. Overall government research spending declined 32.9% in 2024, representing the largest reduction since measurements began in 1972, while science funding plummeted from 0.302% to just 0.208% of GDP.
This crisis has prompted extraordinary international intervention, including an open letter from 68 Nobel laureates warning of a “dangerous precipice,” extensive coverage in the world’s most prestigious scientific journals, and formal statements from major international scientific organizations. The severity of these cuts has fundamentally altered Argentina’s position as Latin America’s second-largest scientific producer and created exceptional circumstances that severely impact researchers’ ability to participate in international academic publishing.
The global scientific establishment has responded with unprecedented alarm to Argentina’s situation. In March 2024, 68 Nobel Prize winners across Chemistry, Medicine, Physics, and Economics sent an extraordinary open letter directly to President Milei, warning that “devaluing and/or cancelling Argentinian science now would be a grave mistake.” The signatories, including Roger Penrose (Physics), Harvey J. Alter (Medicine), and Thomas R. Cech (Chemistry), emphasized that “without Argentine science and scientists, the causes and treatment of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease would have remained a mystery for decades longer.”
The International Science Council issued a formal statement expressing “deep concern that the current wave of decisions affecting Argentina’s science system and infrastructure will be counterproductive.” The ISC specifically condemned the closure of Argentina’s Ministry of Science and Technology, mass dismissal of administrative staff, and freezing of CONICET funding despite record inflation exceeding 250%.
Prestigious academic journals have extensively documented the crisis. Nature published multiple articles in 2024-2025, including “‘There will be nothing left’: researchers fear collapse of science in Argentina” and “‘Scienticide’ in Argentina sparks huge protest by researchers.” Science magazine reported that “CONICET lost 1,000 staff (9% of workforce) since Milei took office,” while The Lancet’s Editor-in-Chief Richard Horton wrote an editorial condemning Milei’s policies for putting “a sharp break on public spending” affecting research budgets and career opportunities.
The financial devastation extends across all major research institutions. CONICET, Argentina’s premier research council, lost approximately 1,000 staff members - representing 9% of its total workforce - including 598 staff scientists and 457 early-career scientists. The organization’s budget fell 25.5% in real terms despite nominal increases that failed to match 236-290% annual inflation rates.
Individual research agencies suffered even more severe cuts: the National Agency for Research Promotion experienced a 65.5% funding decrease, while university research funds were slashed by 72.6%, and the Innovation, Science & Technology Secretariat saw a devastating 91.7% reduction. These cuts paralyzed research operations - 23 “High Impact Federal Network Projects” worth $1 million each were suspended after receiving only their first installment, and $53 million in World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank loans sit unused in government coffers.
The human cost has been equally severe. CONICET researcher salaries fell 29.7% in real terms between November 2023 and November 2024, while university researchers experienced 22.4% salary decreases. Many intermediate-rank professors now earn below Argentina’s poverty line, with 52.9% of the population living in poverty.
The funding crisis has triggered a massive exodus of scientific talent. Overall publicly funded science employment declined 3.6% from 75,051 to 72,355 people, with job applications to CONICET falling 30% as young researchers increasingly look abroad. At the University of Buenos Aires alone, 40% of scientists in surveyed departments are pursuing emigration.
Specific examples illustrate the broader pattern: Luis Moyano, a CNEA electromagnetic specialist who returned from 20 years abroad in 2019, relocated back to Spain. Alejandro Díaz-Caro, a quantum computer scientist recruited through Argentina’s Raíces repatriation program, moved back to France. The prestigious Balseiro Institute lost over 60 researchers, while 250 experienced researchers left INTA through buyout programs.
Research collaborations have been disrupted internationally. Paris-Saclay University had to modify joint research plans when Argentina’s Ministry of Science stopped responding to funding requests, forcing French partners to cover Argentine researchers’ travel costs. Multiple scientists report being unable to maintain international partnerships due to funding constraints.
The crisis extends beyond funding to systematic policy changes. President Milei eliminated the Ministry of Science and Technology in December 2023, merging it into the education ministry and reducing its authority. He has publicly called CONICET “unproductive” and demanded scientists “go out into the market like any other child of the neighbor.”
Resolution 10/2025 granted Secretary Darío Genua powers to review funds from previous administrations, demand returns with interest if unused, close scientific programs, and rescind agreements not covered by the government’s narrow “strategic plan” limited to agriculture, energy, mining, health, and the knowledge economy.
The operational impact has been immediate and severe. Research laboratories struggle to afford basic supplies like liquid nitrogen and oxygen tanks, with some labs forced to operate with repurposed materials. University energy costs increased 500% monthly, forcing institutions to cut electricity, heating, and basic services. Multiple research vans have been retired due to lack of maintenance funds, and equipment purchases became impossible due to peso devaluation making imports unaffordable.
Comparative analysis reveals the unprecedented nature of Argentina’s crisis. The country’s R&D spending fell from 0.52% of GDP (2021) to just 0.21% (2024) - less than half the world average of 1.25% and dramatically below regional leader Brazil’s 1.17%. This represents a 61% decline from Argentina’s own legal requirement of 0.39% under Law 27,614.
Argentina previously ranked second in South America for absolute R&D expenditure and led the region with 2.73 researchers per 1,000 working-age inhabitants compared to Brazil’s 1.68. However, the country showed concerning signs with the lowest investment per researcher at $95,790 PPP USD - less than one-quarter of Colombia’s $394,978 per researcher.
The current cuts exceed those seen during most austerity programs in developed countries and rival wartime impacts on scientific capacity. Recovery of scientific capacity typically takes 10-15 years after major cuts, and the loss of trained personnel creates multi-generational impacts that threaten Argentina’s position as a regional scientific leader.
The funding crisis directly impacts researchers’ ability to participate in international academic publishing. With open-access journals charging $2000+ per paper, the combination of salary cuts exceeding 30%, budget reductions of 32.9%, and peso devaluation creates substantial barriers for Argentine scientists. Senior CONICET researcher Diego Golombek noted that “my last paper took almost as long to be accepted as the fight to get a discount.”
Argentina’s middle-income status makes it ineligible for automatic fee waivers from major publishers (Elsevier, Wiley, Taylor & Francis), while individual waiver requests often take months to resolve. The international scientific community’s recognition of the crisis - through Nobel laureate interventions, formal statements from international organizations, and extensive coverage in top-tier journals - provides compelling evidence that Argentine researchers face extraordinary circumstances justifying fee waivers and support measures.
Argentina’s scientific funding crisis represents an unprecedented dismantling of research capacity documented by the world’s most prestigious scientific journals and condemned by 68 Nobel laureates. The 32.9% reduction in overall science investment, combined with systematic workforce reductions, salary cuts exceeding 30%, and operational budget collapses, has created exceptional circumstances that severely impair researchers’ ability to participate in international academic publishing. This crisis threatens not only Argentina’s scientific future but the global research enterprise that depends on international collaboration and knowledge sharing.