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Madrid leader steps down over alleged cosmetics theft

"All of my actions, my whole life has been called into question," 53-year-old Cifuentes told reporters, claiming she was the victim of a lynch mob.

Her resignation marks the fall of a politician who had been supposed to spearhead a campaign to restore the ruling conservative Popular Party's image that has been tainted by a series of corruption scandals.

For over a month, Cifuentes has been caught in a media storm over accusations she obtained a 2011-2012 law diploma from Madrid's King Juan Carlos University (URJC) without taking all the required exams and rarely attending lectures.

Prosecutors are investigating after the university rector himself admitted a document attesting she had passed was a "reconstruction" of the original, with two professors' signatures faked.

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But she refused to resign, insisting she had not done anything illegal, although she said she had given up "using the degree".

But on Wednesday, a video emerged in Spanish media dating back to 2011 that purportedly showed a security guard asking her to open her bag after allegedly shoplifting in a supermarket.

Cifuentes confirmed the authenticity of the video, but insisted that she had "involuntarily" taken around 40 euros ($49) worth of unspecified cosmetics.

Announcing her resignation, Cifuentes, who has been president of the Madrid region for three years, said she had taken the decision "to take a step back a few days ago" in order to stop the left from wresting power in the region.

The left had indeed filed a motion for a vote of no confidence against her in the regional parliament -- a move that was likely to succeed after the centre-right Ciudadanos party withdrew its support for her.

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She has not put forward a potential successor, with a year to go before regional elections in Madrid, which accounts for around 20 percent of the country's entire economy.

Her resignation came "after a shameful month", said Inigo Errejon of the far-left Podemos party.

"We are satisfied. Madrid deserves a change," said Ciudadanos president Albert Rivera.

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