Various professors and staff from the Specialized University of the Americas (UDELAS) have been dismissed after expressing their support for the elected rector Gianna Rueda, whose victory in the elections has yet to be officially recognized. The dismissals have generated controversy since all those affected had electoral immunity according to the university's Statute.
Among those dismissed are prominent figures such as Gianna Rueda, the elected rector and current Secretary General of UDELAS, who has led efforts to obtain recognition of the electoral results. Also dismissed were Veyra Jackman, Executive Secretary of the Electoral Council and Head of Purchasing, and Jackeline Inn, an alternate member of the Electoral Council and Administrative Secretary of the General Secretariat.
Other faculty members and teachers have also been terminated, including Pedro Arcia, Jasmina Vega, Joel Martínez, among others. Many consider these dismissals acts of retaliation for their support of Rueda. Furthermore, several teachers and staff are facing disciplinary processes, apparently for backing the elected rector.
The academic community denounces a presumed violation of electoral immunity, designed to protect members of the electoral body from reprisals during university election processes. Amid these circumstances, the demand for the reinstatement of the dismissed employees, immediate recognition of Rueda as rector, and cessation of what they consider an escalation of reprisals at UDELAS is growing.
Regarding one of the latest dismissals, Professor Jasmina Vega Zorrilla was removed for disciplinary offenses deemed of the utmost seriousness. The measure was based on an investigation initiated in March 2024, following a complaint filed that same month. The complaint alleged that Professor Vega, along with a group of people, entered a UDELAS building without authorization, where they carried out actions that violated university regulations.
Following a disciplinary process, the Teacher's Disciplinary Tribunal recommended the dismissal of the teacher, considering that she disobeyed directives from university authorities and affected the normal development of administrative and academic activities. The resolution, signed by the rector Nicolasa Terreros Barrios, imposed the dismissal of the teacher without right to receive unpaid wages and notified her of her right to appeal the decision.
