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News > Culture

Why Is Rihanna Worried About Education in Macri's Argentina?

  • Rihana sent a tweet to Argentina's President Mauricio Macri asking if he would commit to funding education.

    Rihana sent a tweet to Argentina's President Mauricio Macri asking if he would commit to funding education. | Photo: Reuters

Published 25 June 2017
Opinion

The government of Mauricio Macri faces the largest education strikes in more than a decade over austerity measures in the country.

Pop singer Rihanna asked Argentine President Mauricio Macri about his government's plans for education, as part of a larger campaign to promote funding for schooling in developing nations.

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Argentina Public Universities Launch Largest Strike in 12 Years

"Hey there Mauricio Macri, what's your plan for Argentina to commit to #FundEducation?" Rihanna tweeted.

Macri, whose government has been facing a massive teacher strike and continuing criticism for austerity measures affecting schools and universities, responded to the artist saying education was the "central core" of his policies.

"Only education can change the world," said the president.

The 58-year-old conservative politician also took advantage of the situation to promote his Education Minister Esteban Bullrich as candidate for senator in the upcoming elections in the province of Buenos Aires for Macri's Cambiemos Party.

Since March, thousands of Argentine teachers and the largest education workers unions in the country have protested against cuts, school closures and demanding a new bill on education funding.

Public universities in Argentina launched a university strike in the last 12 years last month to demand a higher budget for education and technology and a wage increase of 35 percent for teachers to compensate for the high inflation rate, which in 2016 reached more than 40 percent.

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Mass Teachers Strike in Argentina

The national strike delayed the scheduled beginning of classes in the country and traffic in Buenos Aires was paralyzed for 24 hours, and police then violently evicted teachers who tried to hold mobile schools.

The international education campaign led by Rihanna seeks to encourage world leaders from the G20 group, to increase their public spending on education in developing countries, two weeks ahead of the of the G20 meeting of heads of state in Hamburg from July 7 until July 8.

Bullrich, on the other hand, tweeted to Rihanna that Argentina will host the next G20 meeting in 2018 and that they are "fully committed to making education a priority."

The artist, born in the Caribbean island of Barbados, is the ambassador for Global Partnership for Education, or GPE a funding platform aimed at strengthening education systems and increase the number of children who are in school.

Rihanna also tweeted to Emmanuel Macron, president of France and Justin Trudeau, Canadian prime minister, asking the leaders to commit to the program.

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