POLITICA CIENTIFICA	Política Científica en Argentina
	© Alicia Seltzer, 2001 aseltzer@lab.cricyt.edu.ar Argentina

[RESUMEN] ABSTRACT

Throughout time, the ever unsettled political atmosphere of Argentina has brought countless plans to improve the status of the scientists and their doings. The results have always been disappointing. Work in science in our country is a tough duty, trying to survive with low budgets, changes of the rules and, most of all, the uncertainty about the continuing of the whole system. This is the most unencouraging atmosphere for the new generations. Nevertheless, a group of basic researchers from a western province of the country believe that a more efficient use of the human and economic resources that the system already has could make the difference. The aim is to develop at the same time the scientific knowledge according to universal rules, and also to focus the efforts on studies about the country’s own reality and all its potential for the appropriate use and development of its natural assets, without forgetting that the first purpose of science is the generation of knowledge, and that it should never be evaluated in the terms of its economic revenue.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank to Drs. Ricardo Ojeda, Beatriz Garcia and Dario Trombotto for their invaluable collaboration in the development of the ideas expressed in this article.