México

September 6, 2020

VOLTAR

1. Rosa Icela Rodríguez, first woman to head the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection

Following Alfonso Durazo’s resignation from the Ministry of Public Security and Citizen Protection (SSPyPC), President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has chosen to Rosa Icela Rodríguez to replace him, being the first woman to head the ministry.

Rosa Icela Rodríguez had previously been tasked with administration of customs and port terminals during the militarization process; however, after the changes in the cabinet, the president considered the SSPSyPC to be a more appropriate role, in addition to coordinating the security cabinet.

El País: López Obrador designa a Rosa Icela Rodríguez como secretaria de Seguridad

2. Week of changes towards the 2021 elections

The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Branch (TEPJG) elected Judge José Luis Vargas Valdez as the new presiding judge of the Superior Chamber. Among his responsibilities will be to oversee the intermediate elections of 2021.

On the other hand, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador presented a list of the officials who presented their resignations in order to seek public office in the 2021 elections, among them the delegates of federal programs from Baja California Sur, Colima, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Morelos, Nayarit, Querétaro and Tlaxcala, as well as the President’s brother, José Ramiro López, who served as Deputy Secretary of Border, Migrant and Human Rights Affairs of Tabasco.

Milenio: José Luis Vargas, el nuevo presidente del TEPJF que supervisará las elecciones del 2021.
El Financiero: Estos fueron los funcionarios federales que se ‘aplicaron’ con el plazo de AMLO y renunciaron al Gobierno

3. Attorney General seeks to bring Luis Videgaray to justice

The Attorney General’s office issued an arrest warrant against Luis Videgaray, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and one of the people closest to ex-President Enrique Peña Nieto.

This request stems from a confession made last August by former PEMEX director, Emilio Lozoya. Videgaray is accused of five crimes: one electoral crime, two counts of bribery, one of criminal association and another of treason. According to Mexican media, this is the second time that the Attorney General’s office has filed an order against the former minister.

El País: Luis Videgaray, en el punto de mira de la Fiscalía mexicana.

4. Increase in Covid-19 cases recorded in at least six states

Deputy Minister of Health, Hugo López Gatell, stated that the states of Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Mexico City, Durango, Querétaro and Zacatecas have seen an increase in cases of Covid-19. For its part, the state of Chihuahua announced that it will enact a new mobility decree, with a special focus on weekends, in order to contain the increase in contagion.

On the other hand, Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard reported that Mexico will participate in phase 3 of the clinical trials of the vaccine elaborated by the Chinese company CanSino. So far, this vaccine is one of the most advanced in development as well as the one elaborated by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

El País: México probará la vacuna china contra la covid-19 en más de 10.000 voluntarios.

5. Mexico will have economic stability regardless of U.S. election result: AMLO

In view of the uncertainty due to the lack of results in the U.S. presidential elections, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that regardless of the results, the country’s economic stability is guaranteed, since he commented that the economy is healthy, solid and has the confidence of foreign investors. The Chamber of Deputies approved the 2021 Income Law for a total amount of MXN $6.295 trillion (USD $305.07 billion) for next year.

For his part, Enoch Castellanos, President of the National Chamber of the Transformation Industry (Canacintra), expressed his concern that if Joe Biden wins the election, Mexico could lose its place as the United States’ main trading partner and lose competitiveness.

Milenio: AMLO garantiza estabilidad económica, sin importar resultado de elección en EU.
El Economista: México puede perder brillo como principal socio de EU, ante eventual triunfo de Biden: Canacintra.