Mexico judge dismisses first lawsuit against UNAM entrance exam suspension

A federal judge has dismissed the first legal challenge against the National Autonomous University of Mexico's (UNAM) decision to suspend its entrance exam. The lawsuit, filed by Brenda Haydde Balderas García, argued against the suspension of the exam due to alleged irregularities.

However, the judge, Ulises Oswaldo Rivera González, presiding over the Fourth District Court in Administrative Matters, found the challenge inadmissible. The ruling was based on a jurisprudential criterion from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN). This criterion establishes that public universities possess the independence to determine their own admission, promotion, and retention requirements.

The court stated that denying admission to a candidate who has not passed the required examination does not constitute an act of authority that can be challenged through a "juicio de amparo" (writ of amparo). Aspirants are only entitled to be considered in the selection process according to the established criteria of the respective institution. Therefore, the judge concluded that Balderas García, not yet being a student of UNAM, could not legally challenge the university's decision through this legal avenue.