The governor of Veracruz, Norma Rocío Nahle García, announced that her administration took firm actions in accordance with the law after identifying various anomalies at the Popular Autonomous University of Veracruz (UPAV), events that led to the presentation of formal complaints and the recent arrest of former officials related to the institution.
In a radio interview with journalist Luis Ramírez Baqueiro, the state president pointed out that for months now, discontent among students and teachers began to accumulate, who denounced delays in payments, administrative disorder and direct effects on academic development, including the lack of issuance of professional titles.
He explained that the UPAV was originally conceived as a project to expand access to higher education, through the use of public spaces to teach classes, while foundations and associations were in charge of managing school fees. However, it indicated that these organizations engaged in irregular practices, charging tuition fees without ensuring payment to teachers or establishing formal labor relations, generating non-transparent financial management.
Given these allegations, the State Government ordered the intervention of the Financial Intelligence Unit, which carried out in-depth investigations and detected serious inconsistencies in the use of resources. As a result, complaints were filed with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, a body that is currently following up the case before the Judiciary.
“It is my government and I have to act, whoever it is. Everything was done in accordance with the law and now it will be up to the judicial authorities to determine responsibilities,” said Nahle García, emphasizing that there will be no tolerance for impunity.
The governor also reported that a decree was issued by which the UPAV is formally under the responsibility of the State, with the purpose of providing legal certainty to the institution, guaranteeing the academic continuity of more than 60 thousand students and establishing clear working conditions for teaching staff, who may have hourly contracts, as in other public universities.
Regarding debts to teachers, he specified that the resources located in the foundations involved must be used to pay the outstanding amounts, while the State Government will begin to cover in an orderly manner the obligations that correspond to it.
Finally, the president reiterated that the case will go “as far as it has to go” and that those who must respond to justice will do so, while reaffirming that education is a priority of her administration and that administrative irregularities will not be allowed to violate the right of Veracruz residents to study.
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