The Unachi Council Debates the Rector’s Resignation Amid Attacks on Mulino and Threats to Students
Most of the members of the General University Council of the Autonomous University of Chiriquí are close to the rector and receive high salaries.
The General University Council of the Autonomous University of Chiriquí (Unachi) is holding an extraordinary session today Tuesday May 27 to address the resignation submitted by Rector Etelvina Medianero de Bonagas pictured below, amidst a university crisis marked by administrative questions and internal tensions. The academic community remains expectant regarding the decisions that will need to be made following her departure.
The University General Council is composed of university authorities, including the rector who presides over it, the vice-rectors, the general secretary, and the deans of the various faculties. It also includes representatives of the faculty elected by their peers, student delegates, and members of the administrative staff, who participate in decisions related to the academic and administrative functioning of the institution.
The Rector of Unachi Owns Properties in David Boquete and Marbella
Pictured above is Rector Etelvina Medianero de Bonagas with former President Laurentino Cortizo. The rector created a private foundation that, despite starting with a capital of $10,000 in 2021, accumulated properties valued at more than $470,000 in a short time.
Since Etelvina Medianero de Bonagas assumed the rectorship of the Autonomous University of Chiriquí (Unachi) in 2013, her assets and those of her immediate family experienced an unusual and stealthy growth, with farms and properties spread throughout Chiriquí and the capital city. The rector’s children—Jessica Joanna, Ethel Mayte, and Moisés Enrique Bonagas Medianero—were allegedly involved in this scheme. In fact, the Attorney General of Colombia, Luis Carlos Gómez Rudy, requested information about them from the Public Registry. Furthermore, officials at the Autonomous University of Chiriquí (UNACHI) close to the rector played a significant role in this structure.
A Forensic Audit at Unachi Regarding Salary Deductions has been Launched by the Comptroller General’s Office
The Comptroller General of the Republic announced the start of a forensic audit at the Autonomous University of Chiriquí to investigate alleged irregularities related to salary deductions applied to workers.
The Comptroller General of the Republic announced that it will begin a forensic audit at the Autonomous University of Chiriquí (Unachi), amid allegations of irregularities related to salary deductions applied to employees of the institution. Recently, the UNACHI Professors’ Association declared a state of “maximum alert” in response to the university’s budgetary and administrative crisis. In communiqué 005-2026, the union denounced alleged irregularities in the handling of salary deductions and directly blamed the administration of Rector Etelvina Medianero de Bonagas for what it described as an “unacceptable” situation.
