University restructuring in Argentina: The political debate

Universities all over the world are experiencing intense pressures from governments and private organizations to change their goals, functions, and organizational structure. A review of current transformations worldwide indicates a shift from the autonomous to the heteronomous university, where the direction of the university is increasingly conditioned by external forces. Some institutions of higher education fervently endorse the proposed changes, most resign themselves and sooner or later adopt them, and a few present resistance. In the latter case, a conflict between the state and the university, and within the university itself, is inevitable. This is the situation of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), the largest institution of higher education in Argentina.