Mexican peso rises after appointment of Ebrard for Economy

The elected president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaumappointed the former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrardto direct the country’s Ministry of Economy, an announcement that sent the peso to a session high.

Sheinbaum He also appointed Juan Ramón de la Fuente, who recently served as Mexico’s ambassador to the United Nations, to serve as Secretary of Foreign Affairs. These were among six Cabinet appointments Sheinbaum announced Thursday during an event in Mexico City.

Sheinbaum He will take office on October 1, replacing his mentor and colleague from the Morena party, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Although his victory was expected in the June 2 elections, the ruling coalition also obtained a majority of the governorships at stake and a majority in Congress, giving it undeniable control over the direction of the country.

The Mexican peso, which has weakened sharply since Sheinbaum’s victory over fears that Morena lawmakers will push for controversial reforms, rose 0.5% to 18.3348 per dollar following the announcement.

Ebrard, who was also head of government of Mexico City, competed with Sheinbaum last year to become the presidential candidate of the Morena party. After initially distancing himself from Sheinbaumjoined his campaign.

During his time as chancellor, he oversaw the close relationship with the United States during Donald Trump’s presidency and part of Joe Biden’s time in the White House, and worked to obtain vaccines from abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s not a dramatic change, but in some ways it’s refreshing and an opportunity to show fiscal commitment.”said Alejandro Cuadrado, head of global currency and Latin America strategy at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA in New York.

Ebrard has been “involved in the T-MEC and the US will continue to be the most important economic element of this Administration”Cuadrado said.

For his part, De la Fuente coordinated a series of discussion forums organized by the Sheinbaum campaign on the eve of the election. He was Secretary of Health of Mexico, worked in the UN program against AIDS from the 90s and directed the United Nations University Council, in addition to collaborating in its development programs in Latin America.

Prior to Thursday’s announcement, Sheinbaum confirmed that the current Secretary of the Treasury, Rogelio Ramírez de la O, will remain in his position.

The other appointments of Sheinbaum were:

• Rosaura Ruiz, biologist and former minister in Mexico City, will direct the Secretariat of Sciences, Humanities, Technology and Innovation.
• Alicia Bárcena, the current chancellor, as Secretary of the Environment
• Julio Berdegué will direct the Ministry of Agriculture
• Ernestina Godoy, who until recently was attorney general of Mexico City, as legal advisor