UPAV teachers protest in Xalapa over unpaid salaries

Teachers and directors of the Universidad Popular Autónoma de Veracruz (UPAV) staged a peaceful protest in front of the Secretaría de Finanzas y Planeación (Sefiplan) headquarters in Xalapa, blocking the Xalapa and Adolfo Ruiz Cortines avenues. They demanded the payment of salary arrears that have accumulated since 2025, affecting more than 5,000 faculty members across Veracruz.

The demonstrators complained of repeated delays in quarterly, four‑monthly and semi‑annual wage payments and warned against being forced to sign disadvantageous contract schemes lacking legal certainty and basic labor rights. They also highlighted that students have paid tuition fees while the university has not transferred the funds to staff. The rector of UPAV, engineer Rodolfo, labeled the protesters a “minority group,” a comment the teachers rejected. A delegation of faculty prepared a petition to present to Sefiplan, the Veracruz State Education Secretariat and the university’s rectorate.