Researchers in Mexico have warned that crippling funding cuts are undermining universities and science as tensions grow over the new government¡¯s priorities for the sector.

Andres Manuel L¨®pez Obrador ¨C known as ¡°Amlo¡± ¨C won the presidential vote by a landslide last year, earning support for his promises to tackle widespread corruption and to rebuild the country¡¯s education system.

A major initiative announced during Mr L¨®pez Obrador¡¯s campaign was a pledge to build 100 new universities, allowing ¡°every person access to higher education¡±. This month, the president reaffirmed a proposed budget of 1?billion pesos (?40.4?million) for the scheme, angering academics at a time when existing institutions are struggling to make ends meet.

Official figures from the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt) show a 47.2?per cent cut in public science spending since 2014.

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Last month, the Ministry of Finance introduced new taxes on scholarships and bursaries, cancelled insurance policies, travel expenses and the purchase of laboratory equipment, ¡°in addition to suspending new hires and prohibiting the hiring of personnel for fees¡±, according to Eugenia Rolan Vera, a senior researcher for Mexico¡¯s Center for Research and Advanced Studies (Cinvestav), the country¡¯s major non-governmental research institute.

Because salaries for researchers and university lecturers have historically been low in Mexico, scholarships and workplace benefits typically make up 20-60?per cent of university salaries. The removal of these incentives means that most people in the sector have experienced a 10-25?per cent fall in their monthly income, according to Dr Rolan.

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In an open letter, Dr Rolan warns that ¡°cuts to public spending for science and technology and dictated direct measures of reduction to [academics¡¯] income¡± are creating a sense of disillusionment among the country¡¯s top scientific minds.

Times Higher Education understands that Cinvestav is in the process of drafting a petition outlining researchers¡¯ concerns to present to parliament alongside an alternative funding proposal.

Francisco Marmolejo, the World Bank¡¯s lead tertiary education specialist, said that Mexico¡¯s funding cuts were an issue of ¡°real concern¡±.

¡°The plan to establish new universities is an intriguing one because it intends to tackle issues of inequality of access in higher education, but at this point [its policies] are not clear at all,¡± he said.

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¡°My perspective is that first [the] government should present more detail on its plans [for higher education reform] since currently it is only a very general proposition. The lack of clarity of the proposal leads to too much speculation.¡±

The new president has been criticised over his government¡¯s controversial hiring practices; earlier this month, Conacyt issued an apology for hiring David Alexir Ledesma, an undergraduate believed to have personal connections to Amlo, in a deputy director role at the organisation.

Meanwhile, published proposals for educational reform restated Mr L¨®pez Obrador¡¯s desire to build new universities but made no mention of the autonomy of public universities ¨C a historically sensitive subject for Mexican higher education that has until now been enshrined by law. Mr L¨®pez Obrador later apologised for what he said was a ¡°mistake¡±.

Daniel Herrera Luckie, a PhD student in chemical engineering at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico, said that his own institution had ¡°reduced the benefits and increased the [work]load¡±, making it challenging for academics to tutor more than two graduate students a year.

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¡°If the system is not [already] failing, it is on the way to doing it under Amlo,¡± he said.

rachael.pells@timeshighereducation.com