A quick walk through the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) is enough to find the first pair of Havaianas flip-flops. They belong to Guilherme Henrique Leão, 28, from Acre: "When I arrived six years ago, there wasn't this flood of YouTube channels talking about how to study here."
The number of Brazilians who, like him, study medicine in Argentina has quintupled from 4,000 to over 20,000 in seven years, from 2015 to 2022, the latest data from the local government. This represents half of the foreigners and 12% of the total students in the course in the neighboring country, reaching 31% in private institutions.
With them came coxinhas in cafeterias, coffee in the classroom, Portuguese in the hallways, and even "Brazilian-style" lab coats.
Brazilians are attracted by the absence of entrance exams, unlimited vacancies, the quality of education, and also the low cost of living.
Argentina is considered a country very open to immigrants, who, according to the Constitution, enjoy almost the same rights as locals. One in four medical students is from other countries (24%), including Peruvians and Paraguayans.