Gobernanza y derecho a la ciencia en Argentina: tensiones y transformaciones en el sistema científico y tecnológico (2003-2025)

Abstract

This article addresses the relationship between governance in the science and technology (S&T) system and the right to science in contemporary Argentina (2003–2025). Within this framework, the article first examines, at a theoretical level, the causal relationships that exist between governance in this sector and the levels of fulfillment of the right to science, analyzing the following dimensions: Dynamics of authority (formal/informal), dynamics of autonomy (relative), financing mechanisms, participation in the benefits of science, interdependence and coordination between actors, transparency and mechanisms of legitimation, State-private sector relations, and epistemic pluralism. In the second part of the article, a case study examines how SCyT governance in Argentina has functioned in relation to the right to science during the period 2003-2025. The analysis shows that, in the 2003–2023 cycle, SCyT under-went a phase of institutional expansion with the creation of MINCYT, the consolidation of ANPCYT, and the growth of CONICET. However, this process coexisted with structural limitations: territorial concentration of resources, weak coordination with the productive sector, and limited social and citizen participation in agenda setting. In contrast, Javier Milei's administration (2023–2025) marked a break with the past, characterized by budget cuts, institutional disarticulation, and discursive delegitimization science, which translated into a deliberate violation of the right to science. The article concludes by highlighting the need to move towards democratic, participatory, pluralistic, federal, and sustained governance with sufficient resources to strengthen science as a public good and a human right.