This Wednesday morning, the President of Bolivia, Luis Arce Catacora, officially appointed Rubén Alejandro Méndez Estrada as the new Minister of Environment and Water, replacing Juan Santos Cruz, who resigned due to alleged bribery cases within this government department.
Santos Cruz has been in preventive custody since yesterday, Tuesday, after providing his informative statement to the Public Prosecutor's Office, as part of an investigation into money laundering allegations involving significant financial transactions and reports of bribes received from construction contractor companies.
During the ceremony held in the main hall of the Casa del Pueblo, the new authority expressed his commitment to the President, saying: "I pledge to work intensively with ethics and transparency to achieve the objectives of the 2025 agenda in water, sanitation, and irrigation."
#Importante
Rubén Méndez es posesionado como nuevo Ministro de Medio Ambiente y Agua. pic.twitter.com/jstng2RtCu— RTP Bolivia (@rtp_bolivia) May 17, 2023
Rubén Alejandro Méndez Estrada has previously served as the Director General of Integrated Solid Waste Management at the Ministry of Environment and Water, as well as the Deputy Minister of Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation during the government of Evo Morales.
Profile
Engineer Rubén Alejandro Méndez Estrada was born on February 17, 1958, in Potosí. He holds a Master's degree in Project Planning and Development from Loyola University in La Paz. He has completed various courses, including Integrated Water Resources Management and Comprehensive Basin Management in the Bolivian Navy, as well as Water Resources and Environment and Preparation and Evaluation of Public Investment Projects at the Private University of Santa Cruz.
