Uruguayan trade union mobilizes resources for scientific research

Its president, Marcelo Abdallah, announced that the House of Representatives will fight what he considers a double rhetoric to the executive authority over budget accounting figures that entered Parliament hours ago.

In a meeting with the center, researchers Gonzalo Tancredi and Gabriela Mordecki expressed concern about the low budget allocated to this field without considering any of the aspirations raised by the academic community.

“The entire political system in Uruguay understands the importance of investing in science and technology for the country’s development, and we are far from reaching the 1.0 percent promised by presidential candidates in 2014,” Tancredi said.

In an open letter in defense of the University of the Republic, a group of educators and academics wondered how there could be talk of a “budget for education and science”, but the country’s main university institution was left out.

The signatories highlight Udelar’s journey in recent years, its growth in student enrollment and the expansion of its educational offering with more than 22,000 at locations in Salto, Paysandú, Rivera, Tacuarembo, Melo, Treinta y Tres, Rocha and Maldonado.

They also highlighted the Foundation’s social contribution in the context of the pandemic and diverted all of its resources to emergency health care, contributing its staff to the Honorary Scientific Advisory Group (GACH) and developing innovations in diagnostic testing.

Among the teachers and academics joining the mission are former GACH members Rafael Radhi, Javier Hurtado, Oscar Noboa and Otto Britch, and former Deans and President of the National Academy of Sciences, Eduardo Manta.

Senators from the Broad Front have warned Mario Bergara and Sebastian Sabini that a cut at the university would have dire consequences, as it would mean a real 7.6 per cent budget cut and that it would “lose critical mass” due to its inability to retain academics.

j/h