More than 60 Nobel Prize-winning scientists have warned of a “brain drain” of Argentine researchers to other countries.

“We write to you with respect and deep concern. We note how the Argentine science and technology system is approaching dangerous abyss We are frustrated by the consequences this situation could have on both the Argentine people and the world. This is how the letter they presented to the National Executive begins: 68 Nobel Prize Laureates who wrote against him amendment who crosses sciences.

After taking office, Javier Mayele removed: Ministry of Science And he reduced it to a secretariat headed by Alejandro Cosentino, a business administration graduate with no experience in the scientific field. In the case of ConsettLed by veterinarian and animal cloning expert Daniel Salamon, the letter continues: “We view with concern the abolition of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the dismissal of administrative staff from CONICET and other institutes across the country, and the early termination of several contracts.”

Invest in this portfolio decreased 30.4% real during the current liberal administration, going from representing 0.302% of GDP in 2023 to 0.208% this year. Organizations that have suffered, such as the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and national universities Discounts By more than 90%, according to data published by the College of Exact and Natural Sciences.

Ariel Wilkes Researcher at Conicet and Dean of IDAES Faculty St. Martin’s UniversityTalk to Clarion He expressed that “this process began, radically, on December 10, when project funding was cut, salaries were reduced, and the continuity and integration of new researchers into the university system were halted.”

Wilkes warned that the decline in postdoctoral fellowships has a significant long-term impact due to the disruption of research teams and this affects the institutional life of UNSAM.

Many scientists and science professionals warn that if the modification goes deep, there will be a risk “brain drain”. “There are cases of researchers who returned to Argentina thanks to the Raíces program implemented in 2008 and are now returning to the countries from which they returned,” the dean said.

He stresses that “there are many young researchers who have made their careers in Argentina, who have obtained their doctorate for which they have devoted between 5 and 7 years and who have now cut off the possibility of continuing their career as a researcher in our country.” There is a very dynamic Researchers mobility Those who leave to spend a quarter or a semester in another country in search of funding that will allow them to complete what they have in Argentina. This is a huge loss for a country that will depend on them in the future. Imports Science and technology to stop giving priority to national development.

In the case of the UNSAM scientific system, Wilkes explains, it is supported by the state and other institutions such as CONICET and the Scientific Promotion Agency. This affects not only the individual careers of researchers, but also their lives. Quality of university education.

“What we are witnessing is eroding Moral appreciation Society in relation to the word research. The role of research is essential in the development of the country. The official story “strikes hard in rejoice From the researchers. “There is a ‘frustration’ caused by Lacks Number of scholarships: Increased from 1,300 in 2023 to 600 by 2024.

-How is the scientific system financed in Argentina and other countries?

-The groups are different depending on each system. For example, in the United States, the scientific system relies on public funding, but it also relies on private funding. In the case of Brazil, because of its true federal system, it has several states like São Paulo that invest in the scientific system, although with Bolsonaro you had a government that attacks science. In Argentina, there is only state funding. Except for specific cases like, for example, the Arvac vaccine that was developed at UNSam and was a public-private agreement.

-Why isn’t there more communication between the public and private in Argentina?

-On the one hand, there is no culture in the private sector to invest in research. Moreover, there is a certain hostility in certain sectors of the scientific system to being able to set an agenda with the private sector that makes sense for them and others. This is perhaps a complement, given that major innovations in science around the world come from the public system.

With this policy, Current investments Which illustrates both forms of financing, as is the case Drought resistant wheat It was developed by an alliance between Conicet, Bioceres and the National University of the Coast. The United States has approved the use of the HB4® drought-resistant technology, unique worldwide, developed from this joint. To continue this project, multinationals like Bioceres will have to resort to funding support themselves. “If they don’t, they will be paralyzed, which will happen to the majority, because experimental science does not have the logic of direct benefit that Argentine companies have,” declared Nuria Gineger, researcher and reference at ATE CONICET Verde y. Blanca before the mediator El Cronista.

For Wilkes, the Argentine scientific system has undergone significant development and maturation in the last twenty years: “It had a central place in society due to its social role as a public actor and the current political cycle calls into question both in terms of funding and in terms of the public utility of having a scientific system.

The letter signed by distinguished scientists also lists some of the achievements of Argentine science: it is The only country in the region who developed it Its own vaccine against Covid-19; and it was built and launched Satellites Communications, design and construction of the next generation of nuclear reactors that will not only be exported but will also generate a domestic supply of vital radioisotopes for medical use; it will soon open a new proton therapy laboratory, the only one in the southern hemisphere; it is developing a multinational project led by Argentine scientists from the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) that has installed the powerful QUBIC radio telescope at an altitude of 5,000 meters in Puna, Salta, which will explore the first milliseconds of the universe immediately after the Big Bang; among other things. Argentina today ranks tenth in the world in terms of the number of biotechnology companies.

The amendment figures are not published. The dean points out that even under Carlos Menem – a reference to the current president – ​​many national universities were created. Today we are on the eve of the executive branch vetoing a law approved in the Senate that sought to increase funding for national universities. But the outlook is getting worse for him. 2025According to: budget Presented yesterday by President Milei with the fiscal deficit as the focus of all evil, the amendment in education and science could be even greater than this year given that, relying on the delegated powers granted by the Basic Law, Milei seeks to eliminate the minimum budget floors for education (6% of GDP) and science (1% of GDP) provided for in our legislation. Article 27 of the project proposes to suspend the funding regulation voted unanimously by the political forces in Congress.