Did Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexican President, Go To College? According To Records, No

For a while now, Mexicans have been wondering why there are no records indicating that President Enrique Peña Nieto graduated from college. Citizens executed their right to information last year, asking the Federal Institution of Access to Information (Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información Pública, IFAI), to confirm the information stated on 'The Constitutional President of Mexico' website: “He holds a BA in Law from the Universidad Panamericana and a MA in Business Administration from the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM).” After the IFAI’s investigation, the institution stated that all records indicating that the President had in fact attended either of these schools, were inexistent.

However, the IFAI also stated that the records might not be available to them for a reason: “Because it isn’t a requirement for the President to have certain levels of education, a degree, or certain grades, we confirm the fact that those records aren’t part of the President’s governmental records.” The citizen who had requested the information was then encouraged to request this from the Federal Electoral Institution (Instituto Federal Electoral, IFE.)

Still, no information has been published confirming the President did indeed acquire those degrees. The issue brings up many other questions for the people of Mexico. How is it not a requirement for a Presidential Candidate to have a certain level of education in order to run an entire country? And if so, how is this information not available to fulfill the citizens’ right to information? Also, if the Mexican President didn’t go to a university, how is he going to understand and promote the importance of education for a country’s development?