MEXICO CITY - Mexico’s new finance minister Arturo Herrera is a pragmatic and respected policy maker who says he was inspired to study economics by the Latin American debt crisis that wrought financial chaos and wrecked livelihoods in his country.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday named former World Bank executive and long-time ally Herrera to succeed Urzua, who blamed meddling in the finance ministry and ill-thought-out economic policies for his abrupt resignation. He spoke of the importance of focusing on growth without spurring the runaway inflation and currency crises that stunted Mexico in the 1980s and 1990s.
Urzua did not elaborate on what policy steps led him to resign, but decisions by Lopez Obrador to cancel a partially built $13 billion airport, designate scarce funds to a new oil refinery and forcefully renegotiate gas pipeline contracts with Canadian and U.S. companies have all led to market volatility.
“Herrera has been the face of Mexico’s finance ministry in meetings with international investors in recent months and is a credible choice,” said Abbas Ameli-Renani, an emerging markets portfolio manager at Amundi. “We started studying economics in the middle of one of the most profound crises in the history of Mexico,” Herrera said. “Inflation, devaluation, the lack of employment were the topics that dominated life in Mexico.”
For the way The president of Mexico runs the economy, he reminds me of Dilma Rousseffis ,Brazilian impeached president, I do hope the Mexicans have better fate. Dilma was responsible for the worst recession of all times .
BTW, they are secretaries, like in the U.S. El obscuro origen del nuevo Secretario de Hacienda
Poor guy he doesn't even know which ground is under his feet... totally lost...
I wish mexico could pull it together, would be nice to see them do well for their citizens.