PublishedMay 22, 2022, 4:57 AM
Max Mendoza, the head of a Bolivian student union, was arrested on Saturday for fraudulently collecting a salary from the university union.
Students in front of the Mayor de San Andres University (UMSA) in La Paz.
AFP
The head of a Bolivian student union, known for spending 33 years studying in various fields without ever graduating, was arrested on Saturday for improperly receiving a salary from the university union. “By decision of the public ministry, the former university leader Max Mendoza, was arrested,” announced the Minister of the Interior, Eduardo del Castillo.
Max Mendoza, 52, president of the Bolivian University Confederation (CUB), “would have illegally benefited” from a monthly salary of 21,870 bolivianos (about 3150 dollars), according to the prosecutor of La Paz, William Alave. This salary is similar to that of a university president and close to that of the president of Bolivia, who earns around $3,500 a month. Mendoza, who has taken several courses since 1989, failed more than 200 subjects and scored zero in more than a hundred subjects.
The union leader on Thursday described the accusations as “slander”. “We haven’t received a penny that isn’t in a proper and legal manner,” he said. According to local media, many student leaders stretch out their studies to keep their jobs and the benefits that come with them.
During a rally on May 9 at Tomas Frias State University in Potosi (southwest), a tear gas canister was thrown into the crowd causing a stampede that left four dead. Four people have been detained in connection with this investigation. Friday, about fifty university students without incident occupied the offices of the union chaired by Max Mendoza to demand his resignation.
(AFP)