Conapred’s resolution that pointed out “discrimination” and asked prosecutor Alejandro Gertz Manero for refusing to join the National System of Investigators (SNI) for 11 years was the reason why Conacyt, according to him, recognized the official as a level III “investigator.” However, the resolution of the case ignored the opinion of its legal area regarding the indispensable requirements that the applicants had to meet.
Political Animal obtained the letter I1000/235/2020 in which the Legal Affairs Unit of Conacyt pointed out that to enter the SNI in level II and III it was mandatory that the applicant had directed postgraduate theses, a requirement that Gertz Manero did not meet and that was among the reasons why he was denied entry to the SNI since 2010 when he first requested it.
In this document of September 29, 2020, the director of Consultation and regulatory studies of Conacty, José Antonio Ruiz Martínez, explains that he responded to the memorandum in which he was asked if “researchers in the process of evaluation, new entry or reentry must comply or not with the direction of postgraduate thesis as a requirement to continue and / or obtain the appointment of researcher level II and III”.
Ruiz Martínez cited article 48 of the SNI regulations in which the requirements are detailed and, therefore, wrote, “there are no gaps or facts about which there is doubt with the application of the regulations”, because “to receive the distinction of researcher level II and III, in addition to complying with the provisions of the aforementioned regulation, the applicant must demonstrate having directed postgraduate theses”.
However, the “Special Advisory Commission, formed exclusively for this case, ruled that this requirement was not indispensable, which allowed prosecutor Gertz Manero to obtain the appointment of level III investigator in the SNI, the system of curricular and economic recognition intended for the most prolific researchers in the country who pass rigorous evaluation processes.
His appointment came after 11 years of litigation in courts and after a resolution to a complaint he filed with the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (Conapred), in which he determined on August 28, 2020 a “differential treatment” and asked Conacyt to evaluate it again and review the regulations to avoid possible acts of discrimination.
The director of Conacyt, Elena Álvarez-Buylla accepted the recommendation, so a “Special Advisory Commission” was created – without being contemplated in the regulation – to analyze the case of Gertz Manero for the fifth time, although the researchers who evaluated his work confirmed the rejection on four occasions because he had an “insufficient scientific production” and “did not demonstrate a productivity for the generation and transmission of new knowledge”.
This commission made a legal analysis ex profeso and under a criterion “pro persona”, that is, privilege the rules that benefit the complainant, by which it determined to interpret between two of the articles of the regulations of the SNI that the requirement to direct theses should not be taken as mandatory, but as a possible one.
Although article 37 of the SIN regulations provided that anyone who aspired to enter the system must have “training of the scientific community” through the direction of “completed undergraduate or postgraduate theses; and/or formation of groups of researchers and research groups; and/or delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate courses.”
You may be interested: For failing to meet requirements, Conacyt denied Gertz Manero 11 years to enter the SNI; Buylla’s management grants it
The key was in the interpretation of the “and/or”, because, according to the Special Advisory Commission, chaired by Ernesto Villanueva, it was not obligatory to comply with all of them because “it can be one or the other. Perhaps the “and” should be interpreted as desirable all three, but enough and enough with one of them for the “o”. An interpretation in the light of the pro persona principle must interpret the rule as best in the interests of the individual.”
In this case, Gerz Manero has been a teacher, but in the last evaluation made by Conacyt in 2015, he warns that he presented “35 teaching courses, of which 24 are bachelor’s degree and 10 master’s degrees; it should be noted that these undergraduate and graduate programs are not included in the CIES, SEP or Conacyt register of excellence. Only one of them in the recent period “Criminal procedural practices III” and did not direct any thesis”, says the file obtained by Political Animal.
Therefore, the applicant “did not demonstrate comprehensive productivity within the activities defining the scientific and technological work, oriented to the generation, application and transmission of new knowledge”, and “it is not accredited that the applicant habitually and systematically carries out scientific research activities”, conacyt considered in its last evaluation carried out in 2015.
Conacyt and discrimination
This Saturday, Conacyt released a statement from the prisoner explaining that it granted the appointment to Gert Manero after complying with the Conapred resolution in which it ordered the reparation of damages, for the “discrimination” committed against him.
“Conacyt complied with conapred’s resolution and eliminated from the SNI Regulations all those categories that favored inequality and discrimination. This is reflected in the reform of the current SNI Regulations, published in the DOF on April 20, which clearly establishes that the Evaluation Commissions have the obligation to observe the principle of equality and non-discrimination.
However, the regulation referred to by Conacyt entered into force on April 20, 2021, the day before the “Special Advisory Commission” ruled that Gertz would enter the SNI at the highest level.
Political Animal has sought the position of Conacyt since Thursday through Cristina Pouliot, coordinator of Projects, Communication and Strategic Information; interview with the owner, Elena Álvarez Buylla, through the deputy director of Management, Sandra Arcos, but until this Sunday, in no case have answered the phone calls, chats or mail.
Meanwhile, Conapred also issued a statement on Friday afternoon in which it disassociated itself from Gertz’s appointment as a researcher, since “it was strictly up to Conacyt to evaluate whether the requirements were met with total freedom and independence and to issue a resolution.”
“In no sense did the resolution order C. Alejandro “N” to enter the National System of Researchers (SNI); nor to decide whether his academic career met the merits to be part of the SNI,” the Council explained.
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