Max Mendoza, student leader and current president of the University Confederation of Bolivia (CUB) is cornered with four open complaints before the Prosecutor’s Office and began to lose some privileges, such as the monthly payment of his salary.
In this context, the student leader yesterday began to obstruct the organization of the congress – a key meeting to elect another person to take his place – with the help of representatives of local university federations (FUL) who announced that they will not participate in the meeting. They demanded that the event scheduled for next week be cancelled.
Hours earlier, the state attorney general, Juan Lanchipa, said yesterday that the Public Ministry received four complaints against Mendoza for at least nine crimes. Among them are illicit enrichment, uneconomic conduct, embezzlement, improper use of influence, benefits due to position, usurpation of functions, contracts harmful to the State, contributions and illegitimate benefits of the public servant and improper use of public goods and services.
“Because there are several crimes that are presented in the complaints and these are in the analysis unit in the La Paz Prosecutor’s Office for admission, observation or rejection,” said Lanchipa.
The deputy of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) Héctor Arce Rodríguez said that he filed a complaint against Mendoza for illegal appointment, resolutions contrary to the law and usurpation of functions.
The professor at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA) Víctor Hugo Chávez filed another complaint against Mendoza for “perceiving an unstructured salary, (that is) that the payment he received did not exist in the remunerated structure of the CEUB (Executive Committee of the Bolivian University).
Mendoza has been a leader of the CUB for almost 10 years and for a little over four years he began to receive a salary of 21,860 bolivianos, first as presidium of the CEUB and then as national secretary.
The president of the University Confederation of Teachers (CUD) and member of the CEUB presidium, Carlos Salinas, said that resolution 020 was signed on Wednesday, suspending this payment. “We believe that it is an irregular payment and it is not consistent with the statutes or with any legal way of receiving resources from the State.”
Salinas said that, according to that resolution, an audit will be carried out to determine the degree of responsibility of other former CEUB authorities for this case.
On Wednesday, a meeting of the powers commission was also held, in which Mendoza participated. It was to coordinate the accreditation work of each one of the universities in the XIII congress that will be held between next Monday and Friday in Potosí. “Mendoza was at the meeting for half an hour, signed the minutes and left,” he said.
Not even 24 hours passed and headed by Mendoza, the CUB yesterday issued a resolution in which it “determines not to attend the congress” and proposes that in 30 days the congress be held at the university of the president of the commission of powers, that is to say in Panda.
Salinas described that action as “a tremendous barbarity” and said that with this measure, Mendoza “tries to stay in office against all odds.” “It does a lot of harm to the university system,” he said.
He referred that Mendoza would be breaching a call that he signed. “He will have responsibilities, since the universities will allocate resources for his delegation to attend.” He added that the representatives of the universities will attend the congress. “All of them guaranteed their assistance. With base students there can be a quorum to carry out the event”, he said.
In a video, Mendoza – who entered the university 33 years ago and is a MAS militant – said yesterday that he received money lawfully and announced defamation proceedings against all the people who accuse him.
Deputy Arce criticized “the benefits and privileges” that Mendoza had and assured that even though he is a supporter of MAS, he must pay for his actions.
The deputy for the Citizen Community Edwin Rosas said that he filed a complaint against the former rector of Potosí Juan Bohórquez, for authorizing the payment of salary to Mendoza and against the former representative of the teachers in the CEUB Rodrigo Rodríguez. A former student leader filed another complaint against Mendoza and the current rector of the San Francisco Xavier University of Chuquisaca, Sergio Padilla.
