Public Prosecutor's Office in El Alto opens criminal case against Eva Copa over irregular payment of Bs 2.1 million
The former mayor of El Alto faces charges of misconduct and uneconomic conduct following a retroactive payment to a waste collection company.
Former mayor Eva Copa investigated over irregular payment to waste collection company in El Alto
The Public Prosecutor's Office in El Alto admitted a criminal complaint against former mayor Eva Copa Murga and six former municipal officials over a payment of Bs 2.1 million to the company Trébol S.A., according to El Deber. The complaint was filed by the municipality of El Alto, currently headed by mayor Elieser Roca.
The disputed disbursement corresponds to the garbage collection invoice for March 2026. Originally set at Bs 15.4 million, the invoice was re-liquidated to Bs 17.5 million following a contractual modification signed on 24 April—days before Copa left office in May of this year—generating damage to the municipal treasury exceeding 2.1 million bolivianos.
"The former mayor, together with these former officials, made a payment that no longer corresponded, for which they presented a 'workaround' establishing that retroactive payments could indeed be made. That is, they increased the economic sum to Bs 2 million, which was not reflected in the previous budget," explained Ever Erwin Apaza Gonzales, advisor to the municipality.
Apaza Gonzales clarified that this week investigation guidelines would be issued for Copa and the six former officials—identified as municipal secretaries, directors and lawyers—to appear before the Public Ministry.
According to the accusation, the former officials applied a rate increase retroactively to a service already concluded, a manoeuvre that the complaint describes as irregular. The contract with the Empresa de Tratamiento de Residuos Bolivia (Trébol S.A.) could be reviewed as part of the investigation.
Mayor Roca justified filing the complaint by stating that he himself could be prosecuted for misconduct if he did not refer the case to ordinary justice.
The charges brought against the former mayor are two: misconduct and uneconomic conduct, in her capacity as the highest executive authority of the municipality at the time of the events. Eva Copa had already faced allegations of other irregularities during her administration before leaving office.
Source: El Deber