President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has made her first cabinet appointments, announcing on Thursday a selection of three men and three women who will serve in her administration.
Sheinbaum, who will take office on Oct. 1, announced that former foreign affairs minister Marcelo Ebrard will be her economy minister, while current Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena will be her environment and natural resources minister.
Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico’s former permanent representative to the United Nations and head of Sheinbaum’s transition team, will succeed Bárcena as foreign affairs minister.
The other three appointments to Sheinbaum’s cabinet include Rosaura Ruiz as minister for science, humanities, technology and innovation; Julio Berdegué as agriculture and rural development minister; and Ernestina Godoy as legal counsel to the president.
Ruiz will lead a new ministry that will incorporate the National Council of Humanities, Science and Technology.
The president-elect previously announced that current Finance Minister Rogelio Ramírez de la O would remain in his position after she takes office.
She said Thursday that the six additional cabinet members who will be sworn in with her on Oct. 1 are “first-class men and women with experience” who will “help us a lot to achieve our objectives in the next six years.”
Two of the appointees, Ruiz and Godoy, were members of Sheinbaum’s government when she was mayor of Mexico City between 2018 and 2023.
The president-elect, who won the June 2 presidential election in a landslide, said she will announce more cabinet appointments next week.
Among the key appointments still to be announced are the interior minister, security minister, defense minister and energy minister roles.
What are the backgrounds of the cabinet appointees?
Marcelo Ebrard
The soon-to-be economy minister served as foreign affairs minister in the current federal government between December 2018 and June 2023, when he stepped down to pursue the ruling Morena party’s nomination for the 2024 presidential election.
He was runner-up to Sheinbaum in the polling process to select the candidate.
Ebrard was mayor of Mexico City between 2006 and 2012 and served as a minister in the capital during President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s 2000-05 mayorship. He has also served as a federal deputy.
Ebrard will succeed Raquel Buenrostro as economy minister.
Alicia Bárcena
Mexico’s next environment minister has been foreign affairs minister for almost a year, succeeding Ebrard last July.
She was Mexico’s ambassador to Chile between September 2022 and June 2023 after serving almost 14 years as executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Bárcena will succeed María Luisa Albores as environment minister.
Juan Ramón de la Fuente
The soon-to-be foreign affairs minster was Mexico’s permanent representative to the UN between 2018 and 2023.
A psychiatrist by profession, de la Fuente was rector of the National Autonomous University (UNAM) between 1999 and 2007 and federal health minister during the presidency of Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000).
He will replace Bárcena as foreign affairs minister.
Rosaura Ruiz
The future science minister headed up the Mexico City Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation for four years during Sheinbaum’s 2018-23 mayorship in the capital.
Ruiz, who has a PhD in biology, was head of UNAM’s Faculty of Science between 2010 and 2018.
When she becomes minister for science, humanities, technology and innovation she will effectively succeed María Elena Álvarez-Buylla, the current director of the National Council of Humanities, Science and Technology.
Julio Berdegué
Mexico’s next agriculture minister was assistant director-general for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations between 2017 and 2022. He also served as the organization’s regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Originally from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Berdegué has worked for and with a number of other international organizations, including the International Institute for Environment and Development.
The agronomist will succeed Víctor Villalobos as agriculture minister.
Ernestina Godoy
The woman set to be Sheinbaum’s chief legal advisor was Mexico City attorney general between 2018 and 2024. She previously served as a federal and Mexico City lawmaker.
Godoy, who completed her law degree at UNAM in 1979, has held a range of other government positions in Mexico City.
She will succeed María Estela Ríos as legal counsel of the federal executive.
Mexico News Daily
