Natalia Vitela / Reform Agency
Monday, January 23, 2023 | 22:53
Mexico City.- A space so that the Minister Yasmín Esquivel Mossa, a former UNAM student who plagiarized her thesis, can defend herself and present her allegations, will be opened by the University, informed Enrique Graue, Rector of the Maximum House of Studies.
Graue, who was interviewed after being awarded an honorary doctorate from the Autonomous University of Chihuahua, reiterated that the UNAM will not act hastily in the case that is being pursued against Minister Esquivel.
According to a UNAM statement, the rector affirmed that the autonomy of universities and the freedoms that it protects are in constant evolution, and they must be exercised and reaffirmed beyond political conjunctures in all acts and actions.
He explained that the ability of universities to govern themselves implies endless and always perfectible processes, and that they owe a lot to the talents, spirits and hearts of their communities, which have contributed to their strengthening.
Autonomy means fully exercising freedom of expression and promoting democratic values; guarantee plurality in diversity and perform a management capacity with social responsibility and transparency, he added.
Just last Friday, a month after the plagiarism of Minister Yasmín Esquivel Mossa’s thesis was revealed, REFORMA published that Graue admitted that the prestige of the Maximum House of Studies was questioned… but, even so, he deferred the determination of possible sanctions.
In a message addressed to the governing body of the University, Graue said that the plagiarism of the thesis is a reprehensible conduct, which calls into question the ethics and morals of those who commit it and offends those who strive to comply with this academic requirement.
“I know very well that the prestige of this administration and that of our house of studies are in question, but that is not why we will act hastily and irresponsibly in response to external pressure to make summary judgments,” he said.
Graue announced that he will shortly convene the University Ethics Committee to review the opinions of the Academic and Scientific Integrity Committee of the Faculty of Higher Studies of Aragón (FES Aragón), which ruled that Esquivel’s thesis was a “substantive copy” of another presented a year earlier.
The Rector informed that when the due process has concluded, he will convene the Honor Commission of the University Council to jointly analyze the various options and actions that can be carried out.
… And they will analyze a route to punish plagiarism
Although he acknowledged that nothing they have done so far redeems the indignation generated by the case, Graue detailed the actions that the University has taken after the plagiarism case.
Among them, he said, the College of Directors of Schools and Faculties and the General Coordination of Postgraduate Studies approved that all written theses must be analyzed with technological and scientific implements before going to the synods and juries, for which they have put provision 150 licenses.
In addition, he added, the University Legislation Commission was convened to hear the case and propose the reforms that must be made to university regulations in order to correct legal gaps.
Likewise, he added, they continue with the tracking of the TESIUNAM platform, to determine if there are more cases of plagiarism, to know their dimension and, if so, to act accordingly, in addition to the fact that the director of the thesis of the Minister, Martha Rodríguez , she was already fired.
“Rest assured that UNAM will overcome this and any other challenge we face, defending and consolidating the values that distinguish us and that are the reason for our motto: ‘The spirit will speak for my race,'” he assured.
