UNAM Ethics Committee, without power to punish plagiarism: Carrancá and Rivas

Fernando Camacho Servin

Newspaper La Jornada
Saturday January 28, 2023, p. 4

The University Ethics Committee of the National Autonomous University (UNAM), to which Yasmín Esquivel will go to defend herself against the accusation of academic plagiarism, does not have the powers to point out any punishment against the official, but it must draw attention to the existence of a possible serious misconduct, which could lead the Senate to question whether the minister meets the requirements of honesty and ethics to be part of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN).

The jurist and writer Raúl Carrancá y Rivas considered that this episode should lead to the modification of the norm that allows the President of the Republic to propose the short list from which the new ministers are chosen, since this means the meddling of the Executive in the Judiciary.

In interview with the day, the emeritus professor at UNAM and a 65-year-old teacher, considered that the aforementioned ethics committee, once it hears Esquivel’s allegations, only has to “draw attention to the facts. He has no other faculty but to inform. The sanction or punishment would simply be to say: ‘this offense is being committed, be careful with it’”.

After warning about the possible commission of a serious anomaly, It would already be a matter of the corresponding body of federal power, which would be the Senate, taking it into account to prevent such cases from happening in the future.

– Could this lead to the removal of the minister from office?

–Removing it would already be up to the Senate, which would say I must attend to honesty, good fame and reputation (of the official), but what honesty, what good fame and what reputation? The senators would not say so, the Supreme Charter says so, whose application we watch over,” indicated the member of the Mexican Academy of Criminal Sciences.

Carrancá y Rivas estimated that the University Ethics Committee will endorse the conclusions of the Scientific Integrity Committee of the Faculty of Higher Studies Aragon – in the sense that Esquivel was responsible for plagiarism – because this last instance has the powers to reach that opinion.

Adviser has already been sanctioned

Regarding a possible call to Martha Rodríguez Ortiz, Esquivel’s former thesis advisor and recently fired by UNAM, the lawyer considered that it is not necessary to call her, since she was already duly sanctioned, based on evidence that is very clear.

In the same way, the academic defended the actions of the rector Enrique Graue, since It is false that he washed his hands, as the President said. He has to rely on what the regulations say, not just do what he sees fit.

According to an agreement on the subject, published on August 29, 2019 and signed by Graue, the University Ethics Committee is made up of a president, who must be a member of the Honorary Commission of the University Council, as well as a technical secretary, a representative of the general secretariat, three members, a member of the UNAM editorial board and two renowned academics appointed by the rector.