Students from Costa Rica’s five public universities are scheduled to march through the streets of San José on Tuesday afternoon to protest the administration of President Laura Fernández-Delgado over its refusal to increase funding for the country’s public universities.

At the center of the dispute is the Special Fund for Higher Education, known as FEES, which finances the University of Costa Rica, National University of Costa Rica, Technological Institute of Costa Rica, National Distance Education University and National Technical University.

The protest follows opposition from students to the government’s proposal to keep the FEES budget at a 0% increase through 2027. Last year, the combined budget for the country’s public universities reached about $1.3 billion.

According to the Students Federation of the University of Costa Rica (FEUCR), hundreds of students are expected to take part in the march beginning at 2 p.m.

The approximately 2.5-mile route will run from the University of Costa Rica campus in San Pedro District to the Congress building (Legislative Assembly) at the corner of Avenue 1 and Street 15 in downtown San José.  

The protesters will head to the Legislative Assembly as lawmakers are scheduled to analyze the proposed public university budget for next year on Tuesday.

Traffic police have urged drivers to avoid the area affected by the march while protesters remain on the streets. The demonstration is expected to last at least four hours, and officers will be stationed at key points along the route to redirect traffic.

The march is the second major protest President Fernández has faced recently.  In early August, thousands of people demonstrated against what they described as alleged threats by Fernández against the country’s judiciary.

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