MEXICO CITY (AP) — The new president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum began naming her cabinet on Thursday, featuring an equitable gender distribution as well as a strong presence from academia and her previous administration as mayor of Mexico City.
Sheinbaum, herself a climate scientist and former academicappointed former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard as economic secretary of his government. Ebrard left this position in 2023 to run against Sheinbaum for his party’s nomination.
Sheinbaum won the June 2 election.
Ebrard, 63, was the officer President Andrés Manuel López Obrador tasked with getting foreign-made vaccines to Mexico during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also served from 2006 to 2012 as mayor of Mexico City, traditionally the launching pad for the presidency.
Although he was once seen as the second most important figure in the Morena party, his position was tarnished by two important events. First, a subway line that was hastily and poorly constructed while he was mayor collapsed in 2021, killing 26 passengers. Second, he was involved in a tight primary race against Sheinbaum in 2023 for Morena’s presidential nomination, but rather than quickly admit defeat, he alleged irregularities and continued legal challenges.
Sheinbaum chose Juan Ramón de la Fuente as his Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
De la Fuente, 72, is the former president of Mexico’s largest university, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, or UNAM, which Sheinbaum attended and worked at.
He served as Mexico’s ambassador to the United Nations under López Obrador and is known for his calm and diplomatic demeanor.
He was health secretary in the late 1990s. A trained psychiatrist, De la Fuente is good at listening and has an academic air, like Sheinbaum herself. He held a key position as transition coordinator, so he’s as close to her as anyone.
Mexico’s current Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Alicia Bárcena, will now serve as Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources.
Sheinbaum said Thursday he will create a new ministry overseeing science, humanities, technology and innovation. For this role, she chose Rosaura Ruiz Gutiérrez, a biologist who previously directed the science school at UNAM. Ruiz Gutiérrez was also Mexico City’s education secretary while Sheinbaum was mayor.
Sheinbaum hired Ernestina Godoy, who was Mexico City’s chief prosecutor when Sheinbaum was mayor, to be a legal advisor to his government.
Julio Berdegué Sacristán, an agronomist with a long academic career, was his choice for the secretary of agriculture and rural development.
Sheinbaum said he would present more Cabinet picks next week.
___
