Despite Political Drama, It's Business as Usual in Mexico

President-elect Felipe Calderón is scheduled to be inaugurated as President of Mexico on December 1 in an elaborate ceremony in Mexico City.

Meanwhile, sore-loser and presidential runner-up Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador held his own ceremony in the capital two days ago and installed himself as head of a "shadow" government. Still refusing to recognize the results of last July's election, Lopez Obrador vows to continue his fight against Calderón's administration.

By all accounts, many of those who formerly supported Lopez Obrador have now lost interest in his antics. Some top-ranked officials in his Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) have voiced concerns over his civil disobedience tactics. (Lopez Obrador and his followers have recently been involved in forceful opposition to Wal-Mart's plans to expand its operations in Mexico.)

Calderón, of current President Fox's Political Action Party (PAN), is moving forward with his platform to stabilize Mexico's economy, create jobs, and stem poverty - and toward that effort, he has named six ministers to his Cabinet who will handle the country's economic affairs. Of special note, Agustín Carstens, a University of Chicago-trained economist, has been named Secretary of Finance. Until recently, Carstens had been Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, before that, he was Mexico's Under-Secretary of Finance.

Calderón also named Georgina Kessel as Mexico's first female Secretary of Energy - a key post since she will have control of Mexico's state-controlled energy firm, PEMEX. Eduardo Sojo has been tapped as Secretary of Economy; until a few months ago he had been President Fox's chief coordinator of public policy. Luis Téllez will act as Secretary of Communication and Transports; he previously worked in the administration of President Ernesto Zedillo from 1994-2000. (Zedillo was the last president from the Institutional Revolutionary Party - i.e., PRI, which governed Mexico for 71 years.) Rodolfo Elizondo will stay on as Secretary for Tourism and Javier Lozano, who also formerly worked with the PRI, will be Secretary of Labor - and has vowed to create more jobs at home so Mexicans don't have to migrate to the U.S.

The majority of Mexicans seem to be looking forward optimistically to the platform Calderón has outlined so far. In a move to reach out to Lopez Obrador's supporters, Calderón has wisely adopted many of Lopez Obrador's agenda priorities, including universal health care. Still, Lopez Obrador has vowed to disrupt Calderón's inauguration on December 1. We'll keep you posted as this political drama unfolds…as of now, though, it seems most Mexicans have lost interest. Life progresses here as always… muy tranquilo.

Best Regards,

Marzena Romanowicz
International Living / Mexico
E-mail: Mexico@InternationalLiving.com.

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