A Mexican federal court has dismissed all charges against Elba Esther Gordillo, the flamboyant former teachers union leader known as La Maestra.
Gordillo was accused of embezzling around $US200 million in union funds to maintain her opulent lifestyle. She allegedly owned several multi-million-dollar properties in the United States and a private plane, underwent many expensive plastic surgery treatments and was noted for always wearing luxury clothing brands and accessories.
Gordillo spent five years in jail without ever being convicted, the last seven months under house arrest in Mexico City.
Gordillo denied the charges and claimed her arrest was politically motivated. She had opposed the educational reforms Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto had enacted, which sought to reduce the power of the 1.6-million-member union (SNTE) she had led for almost three decades.
The timing of the court’s decision — on the day Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador received his official accreditation as the country’s president-elect — has raised suspicions among political commentators, some of whom suggested that Gordillo could be poised for a spectacular return to the national scene. Lopez Obrador also dislikes the educational reforms initiated by Peña Nieto, but has yet to announce if he intends to scrap them entirely.
Gordillo said she will talk to the media on August 20, after she has recovered her strength.