A report published by investigative journalist Carmen Aristegui on her website has accused the Mexican President of plagiarising as much as one-third of his law school thesis – the equivalent of a dissertation in the United Kingdom. The 200-page thesis was submitted by President Peña Nieto in 1991 in partial completion of his law degree at Mexico City’s Panamerican University, where he studied from 1984 to 1989.

'Style errors' 

Ms Aristegui’s article cites a report written by a group of specialists and academics who reviewed the young president's thesis and concluded that he had appropriated the work of at least 10 authors without proper attribution. As much as 29 per cent of the thesis was lifted directly from other sources, Ms Aristegui’s report suggests. However, a spokesperson for the president maintains that the referencing concerns related only to ‘style errors’, such as forgetting to reference paragraphs correctly or to cite authors included in the bibliography.

Sources: New York Times; Legal Cheek