The director of the Office of Planning and Budget (OPP), Isaac Alfie, said that he is in agreement with Parliament review the budget allocated to sciencein an interview with Primera Mañana (El Espectador). “Personally I would like it to go there more, less elsewhere”Alfie acknowledged.
In addition, the hierarch stated that the additional budget for the Solidarity Fund of the University of the Republic (Udelar), which is intended to be dissolved, will be “compensated” with the works for a new university in Paysandú, which are estimated at US$ 7 million. “The goal is the same, to improve investment infrastructure”he claimed.
In any case, he acknowledged that this compensation is for the next few years and is not permanent.
Although he indicated that the requests from public bodies “they have been very important”at the end the ministers decide according to their priorities”, and that “the sheet is always short”the director indicated that with science “parliamentaries have a task to perform”.
In the Surrender project, presented on June 30, a budget of US$26 million for science in 2023, and the same amount for 2024.
However, the proposal was criticized by scientists, since of those 26 million there are 12 destined for the new Uruguayan Audiovisual National Agency (ANUA), what they understand is cultural, 4 million for the National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII), and 10 million for innovation.
“It would be necessary to advance 90 or even 100 million dollars per year” to reach 1% of GDPsaid the president of the civil association Investiga Uy, Gonzalo Tancredi, in dialogue with En Perspectiva.
udelar
Alfie explained that “some things have not been taken into account” in the claims for the budget granted to Udelar, which does not foresee no increase for the current period and gradually removes the contribution from the Solidarity Fund.
For the hierarch, one of those elements not taken into account is the US$ 7 million “committed for investment in Paysandú”. To this work is added “an established rise” that the university had in the current Budget, said the director of the OPP.
In addition, Alfie detailed that “When it says ‘resources were lost’ in education” it is due to the loss of real wages, but in this case “it will be recovered”.
The rector of Udelar, Rodrigo Arim, said that “It is striking that Udelar is the only educational entity that does not have a permanent increase.” Nor did he take as good the justification of the government of the works in Paysandú, which stated that it was something “already agreed upon and whose contribution is for one time only”.
