International
Argentine society defends its sensitive fiber before the Government: public education
Argentine society defended one of those axes that trebrate it, a sensitive fiber such as public education, before the adjustment policies of the Government of libertarian Javier Milei, who, in addition to applying his well-known ‘chainsaw’, considers it a “nest of indoctrination.”
Several hundred thousand citizens – students, teachers, university staff, in addition to unions, politicians and social organizations – demonstrated in the Federal University March through the streets throughout the country in defense of public higher education and against the policies of the Executive in that area.
Although the Ministry of Human Capital announced late on Monday what, days ago, it presented as an agreement reached with the National Interuniversity Council (CIN), the deposit of 10,075 million pesos (about 11 million dollars at the current official exchange rate) for 100% of the operating expenses of the national universities, the march went on.
According to the Ministry of Security, only in the Plaza de Mayo, where the march of Buenos Aires concluded, which took place between Congress and the Casa Rosada (seat of the Government), between 100,000 and 150,000 people gathered.
But the number of people between Avenida de Mayo, 9 de Julio and the surrounding streets could raise that number to about half a million protesters.
Argentina promulgated in 1884, under the Presidency of Julio Argentino Roca, Law 1420 on common, free and compulsory education, the basis of the current national education system, which includes free education up to higher (university) education and reaches foreigners.
“We are proud children of the Argentine public university,” proclaimed the president of the Argentine University Federation (FUA), Piera Fernández de Piccoli, in her speech at the end of the Buenos Aires march.
The university leader affirmed that “education is a fundamental human right, because it prevails over the ungrateful chance of inequality” and considered the current one as “a critical period as a result of the policies of the national government.”
In his speech, he demanded the updating of salaries and operating expenses because, he said, the public university is “in March 2024 with values of September 2022”; also the improvement of retirees and the restitution of the National Teaching Incentive Fund (FONID).
Although the call was made from civil society, several political leaders did not want to miss the call.
Among those attending the demonstration in Buenos Aires were the Peronist governor of the homonymous province, Axel Kicillof; the former Minister of Economy and Milei’s adversary in the last presidential elections, Sergio Massa; and the president of radicalism, Senator Martín Lousteau.
Before the march, the former mayor of Buenos Aires and co-founder of the Republican Proposal (center-right) party Horacio Rodríguez Larreta expressed his support; and from a balcony near Congress, former Argentine president Cristina Fernández greeted the demonstrators, who waved a university garment in her hand.
But, without a doubt, it was an event of Argentine society, which was mobilized in peace and without altercations, as the Security authorities themselves acknowledged to the television channel Todo Noticias (TN).
The events in Buenos Aires were attended by representatives of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), one of the most important in Latin America, and of other educational centers in the capital, including some private ones.
In Córdoba (center), a student center par excellence and home of the National University of Córdoba (UNC) – the oldest in the country and one of the first in Latin America, founded in 1613 – about 30,000 people were mobilized.
With a long history of student claims, the city nicknamed ‘la Docta’ was the scene of the ‘Cordobazo’ in 1969, one of the largest Latin American university mobilizations within the framework of the global protests of the late sixties, which was harshly repressed by the dictatorship that then held power (1966-1973).
During the day, there were also mobilizations in the provinces of Santa Fe, Mendoza, Entre Ríos, Río Negro, Neuquén, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Misiones, San Juan, San Luis, Santiago del Estero, Catamarca and Chubut.
International
Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links
A flight carrying 175 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived in Caracas on Sunday. This marks the third group to return since repatriation flights resumed a week ago, and among them is an alleged member of a criminal organization, according to Venezuelan authorities.
Unlike previous flights operated by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, this time, an aircraft from the U.S. airline Eastern landed at Maiquetía Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, shortly after 2:00 p.m. with the deportees.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who welcomed the returnees at the airport, stated that the 175 repatriated individuals were coming back “after being subjected, like all Venezuelans, to persecution” and dismissed claims that they belonged to the criminal organization El Tren de Aragua.
However, Cabello confirmed that “for the first time in these flights we have been carrying out, someone of significance wanted by Venezuelan justice has arrived, and he is not from El Tren de Aragua.” Instead, he belongs to a gang operating in the state of Trujillo. The minister did not disclose the individual’s identity or provide details on where he would be taken.
International
Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”
The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.
“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.
The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.
His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”
International
Miyazaki’s style goes viral with AI but at what cost?
This week, you may have noticed that everything—from historical photos and classic movie scenes to internet memes and recent political moments—has been reimagined on social media as Studio Ghibli-style portraits. The trend quickly went viral thanks to ChatGPT and the latest update of OpenAI’s chatbot, released on Tuesday, March 25.
The newest addition to GPT-4o has allowed users to replicate the distinctive artistic style of the legendary Japanese filmmaker and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away). “Today is a great day on the internet,” one user declared while sharing popular memes in Ghibli format.
While the trend has captivated users worldwide, it has also highlighted ethical concerns about AI tools trained on copyrighted creative works—and what this means for the livelihoods of human artists.
Not that this concerns OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which has actively encouraged the “Ghiblification”experiments. Its CEO, Sam Altman, even changed his profile picture on the social media platform X to a Ghibli-style portrait.
Miyazaki, now 84 years old, is known for his hand-drawn animation approach and whimsical storytelling. He has long expressed skepticism about AI’s role in animation. His past remarks on AI-generated animation have resurfaced and gone viral again, particularly when he once said he was “utterly disgusted” by an AI demonstration.
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