Public University of El Alto

Public University of El Alto
Universidad Pública de El Alto
MottoLa Universidad del Pueblo
TypePublic
Established5 September 2000 (2000-09-05)
RectorFreddy Gualberto Medrano Alanoca
Academic staff
1,398
Students33,480
Location
El Alto
,
Bolivia

16°29′30″S 68°11′37″W / 16.49167°S 68.19361°W / -16.49167; -68.19361
Colors  
Websitewww.upea.bo

The Public University of El Alto (Spanish: Universidad Pública de El Alto), also known by its acronym UPEA, is a public university based in the city of El Alto, Bolivia. The public institution has 8 areas and 37 careers in the areas of medicine, engineering, socio-political-economic and technology. Within its operation, it is part of the organic statute approved in 2007.[1] According to the Ranking Web de Universidades, an online ranking site for Bolivian colleges, UPEA ranks 42 of the best universities in Bolivia.[2] In 2017, there were 47,861 students attending the university and over 8,000 graduates.[3]

History

In 1957, social institutions of El Alto signed agreements with the Higher University of San Andrés (Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, UMSA) in the city of La Paz, to create a faculty with technical careers. The residents within El Alto wanted the university to have professional training courses not only at a technical level. For this, the inhabitants of this city began a series of mobilizations to achieve a university that has a greater academic offer.

On 5 September 2000, after social mobilizations, the law 2115 was promulgated, which determined of having the Public University in El Alto, the same determines that the UPEA would have autonomy in 5 years during which time it would be in charge of a council made up of the Bolivian Ministry of Education and other government agencies.

According to the law of its creation, the entity with the highest decision in the university would be the Institutional Development Council (CDI), in which members of social organizations of the city of El Alto who had little relationship with the work were inserted academically. The UPEA began a process of institutionalization, therefore the University Council was reinstated.

Campus

UPEA has several campuses in different municipalities in La Paz, which includes the following:[4] :


2018 Protest and murder of Jonathan Quispe Vila

In 2018, student protests happened across the university demanding a higher state budget from the government.[6]

On May 24th, 2018, a male student named Jonathan Quispe Vila[7] died while protesting for state funding for the university.[8] Quispe Vila was shot by police officer Cristian Casanova in the heart, dying from blood loss a few minutes later.[9][10][11] Police and media originally named Quispe Vila's death from a firecracker from a protester before that was ruled out.[12] His family's lawyer, Paola Barriga, said that officials wouldn't allow her and her team to look at files pretaining to Quispe Vila's death.[13]

Quispe's funeral was at the university campus.[14][15]

CCTV and phone videos shows Quispe Vila before being shot, along with police shooting at peaceful protesters marching, which caused other protesters to fight back.[16]

Quispe Vila's death sparked nation protests from students, including in La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and Oruro.[17]

In March 2019, Casanova plead guilty and was originally sentenced to 5 years in prison, before it was overruled in January of 2020.[18] In November of 2020, Casanova plead guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.[19]

In October of 2022, Casanova was released and returned to his police duties.[20]

Due to the protests and murder, the University was awarded 68,000,000 bolivianos (5,739,778 in USD).[21][22]

Railing accident of 2021

see 2021 University of El Alto Railings Collapse

On 2 March 2021 at around 8:00 am, students of the university rallied together in order to protest against the Economic, Financial and Administrative Science branch of the school. The protest occurred within the fourth floor of the school with around 40 students simultaneously rallying. With the abundant presence of students in a narrow passageway, the safety railings collapsed which some students were leaning on during the incident. Nine students fell to the first floor and two students fell to the third floor.[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]


As a result of the fall, six students died and five were originally left wounded.

The six victims were the following:

  • Raúl Cadena Choque
  • Anahí Chipana Lazo
  • Tania Choque Roque
  • Gemio Estuder Mamani Justo
  • Saúl Yerco Mamani Soria
  • and Loyda “Leyla” Suazo Machaca[32]

while the injured were:

  • Limber Lucana Arcaya
  • Lino Iván Paredes Chambi
  • Carla Quispe Valdez
  • Danny César Jaño Rodrigo
  • and Marisol Verástegui.[33]

Cadena Choque, Chipana Lazo, and Mamani Justo died instantly while Coque Roque, Mamani Soria, and Suazo Machaca died later in hospitals on March 2nd. On March 3rd, Lucana Arcaya died from his injuries.[34][35] Verástegui was the last survivor discharged from a hospital on March 29th.[36]

Jaño Rodrigo was originally thought to be presumed dead and was named by media as "Daniel Junio “Dany” Rodriguez",[37] but Jaño Rodrigo survived was released from a hospital on March 19th.[38]

References

  1. ↑ Marca, Claudio. "Hacia una pluriversidad complementaria en la UPEA". Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Bolivia | Ranking Web de Universidades: Webometrics clasifica 30000 instituciones". www.webometrics.info. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  3. ↑ Zuleta Villegas, Abigail. "EL COSTO DE UN TÍTULO PARA UN ESTUDIANTE DE LA UPEA Y PARA EL ESTADO EN TIEMPO Y DINERO". Fundacion Para El Periodismo. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "UNIVERSIDAD PÚBLICA DE EL ALTO" (in Spanish).
  5. ↑ "Aprueban ley que garantiza nueva infraestructura para la UPEA en el municipio de Batallas, La Paz". Cámara de Senadores (in Spanish). 2019-06-12. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  6. ↑ Asillanis, Paula Andrea. "Jonathan Quispe cayó en El Alto y su familia pide justicia". El Negocio De La Represion. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Fernández Reyes, Estremadoiro Flores, Nelfi; Ernesto. "Jonathan Quispe cayó en el El Alto y su familia pide justicia". El Negocio De La Represion. Retrieved 8 August 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ Rodríguez, Elena. "Tras la muerte de un estudiante universitario protestas por presupuesto continúan en Bolivia". Youtube. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  9. ↑ Asillanis, Paula Andrea. "Jonathan Quispe cayó en El Alto y su familia pide justicia". El Negocio De La Represion. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "2018-05-24 Public University of El Alto". Scholars At Risk. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  11. ↑ Ariñez, Rubén. "Siete momentos que marcaron la muerte del universitario Jonathan Quispe". Eju. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Muerte de estudiante de la UPEA moviliza al sistema universitario". Actualidad. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "Fiscalia mantiene en reserva caso Jonathan Quispe a dos meses y medio du au muerte". Nacional Seguridad. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  14. ↑ Challco Quispe, Juan Carlos. "MISA DEL FALLECIDO JONATHAN QUISPE VILA". Youtube. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  15. ↑ Fernández Reyes, Estremadoiro Flores, Nelfi; Ernesto. "Jonathan Quispe cayó en el El Alto y su familia pide justicia". El Negocio De La Represion. Retrieved 8 August 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ Bolivia, Unitel. "Informe especial: Siguen las dudas de cómo mataron a Jonathan Quispe". Youtube. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Protestas en Bolivia por la muerte de un estudiante universitario". Nodal. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "UPEA en emergencia por restitución laboral de policía condenado por muerte de Jonathan Quispe". El Potosi. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "Teniente condenado por la muerte del universitario Jonathan Quispe volvió a trabajar a la Policía". Opinion Bolivia. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "UPEA en emergencia por restitución laboral de policía condenado por muerte de Jonathan Quispe". El Potosi. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Médicos confirman que una canica mató al universitario de la UPEA". 25 May 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2019. Archived 2019-08-18 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ↑ "Ley incrementará en más del 100 por ciento el presupuesto anual de la UPEA". 19 June 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2019. Archived 2019-12-03 at the Wayback Machine "Còpia arxivada". Archived from the original on 2019-12-03. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  23. ↑ "At least seven university students fall to death in Bolivia". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  24. ↑ "At Least 7 Bolivian Students Dead After University Railing Collapse". Voice of America. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  25. ↑ Lapin, Tamar (2021-03-04). "Video shows balcony railing collapse that killed 7 college students in Bolivia". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  26. ↑ "Seven students plummet to death at Bolivia university". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  27. ↑ "Seven students dead and five injured after university balcony railing collapses". Metro. 2021-03-03. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  28. ↑ "Al menos 5 estudiantes mueren al caer del cuarto piso de la Universidad Pública de El Alto (UPEA) en Bolivia". CNN (in Spanish). 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  29. ↑ Espectador, El (2021-03-03). "ELESPECTADOR.COM". ELESPECTADOR.COM (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  30. ↑ "Mueren 7 universitarios al caer de un cuarto piso". chicagotribune.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  31. ↑ "El presidente de Bolivia lamentó la tragedia ocurrida en la Universidad de El Alto y aseguró que espera "el pronto esclarecimiento de los hechos"". infobae (in European Spanish). 2 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  32. ↑ "Loyda Suazo, la sorateña jugadora de tenis y fútbol, víctima de la tragedia en la UPEA". Urgente Bolivia. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  33. ↑ "Tragedy in Bolivia: seven university students die after four-storey plunge". The Rio Times. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  34. ↑ "El Alto: Muere el séptimo estudiante de la UPEA". Urgente Bolivia. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  35. ↑ Chuquimia, Marco Antonio. "Entierran los cuerpos de tres universitarios de la UPEA y una fallecida fue trasladada a Sorata". El Deber. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  36. ↑ ""Un milagro": Dan de alta a la última sobreviviente del accidente en la UPEA". Correo Del Sur. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  37. ↑ Menendez, Elisa. "Seven students dead and five injured after university balcony railing collapses". Metro UK. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  38. ↑ "Danny, el sobreviviente a la tragedia en la UPEA: "Me dieron por muerto y pensé que así sería"". Urgente Bolivia. Retrieved 29 July 2026.

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