MEXICO CITY (CN) — Mexico’s President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday tapped five more officials, many of whom already hold secretary or undersecretary positions, to join her 20-member executive cabinet as she prepares for a six-year presidential term beginning on Oct. 1.
During a press conference at Mexico City’s Interactive Museum of Economics, the future president said Mexico's next secretary of energy will be Luz Elena González Escobar, who served as Mexico City's secretary of administration and finance when Sheinbaum was the capital's mayor.
Sheinbaum's energy stance has been much-discussed; it's yet to be seen whether she will support renewable energy more than her predecessor, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and how she will change the internal organization of Mexico's indebted national oil company, PEMEX.
González Escobar has stressed the importance of Mexican energy sovereignty and was heavily involved with the coordination and installation of Mexico City's Central de Abasto solar panel project completed in February. The city installed 30,000 solar panels on top of one of the world's largest wholesale markets — enough to generate electricity for 10,000 homes.
For secretary of health, the president picked David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz, the former director of the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán, a leading Mexican national health institute.
Kershenobich Stalnikowitz is an internationally recognized researcher in the study of the liver. In 1985, he cofounded the Mexican Foundation for Liver Health and is a level III researcher emeritus of the National System of Researchers.
Raquel Buenrostro Sánchez, the current secretary of the economy under López Obrador, will be the secretary of civil service.
"As you all know, she is a woman who is incorruptible, like everyone in the cabinet but particularly her. She has performed outstandingly," Sheinbaum said about Buenrostro Sánchez while introducing her at Thursday's press conference
Buenrostro Sánchez is known for her work as the head of the Tax Administration Service during the Covid-19 pandemic, including implementing new policies combatting tax evasion, for which she received the nickname "Iron Lady."
The new secretary of infrastructure, communications and transportation will be civil engineer Jesus Antonio Esteva, who currently serves as Mexico City's public works and services secretary. He was in charge of building the city's elevated level of the Anillo Periférico, its two-level highway that runs in a loop circling Mexico City, when López Obrador was mayor.
Antonio Esteva was also tasked with reconstructing Line 12 of Mexico City's metro after it collapsed on May 3, 2021, killing 26 people. The metro line reopened completely on Jan. 30, 2024.
Finally, for secretary of agrarian, territory and rural development of Mexico, Sheinbaum picked Edna Elena Vega Rangel.
Vega Rangel holds a doctorate in sociology, specializing in society and territory, and a master's degree in city planning, both from the Azcapotzalco Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City. She is the current undersecretary of agrarian, territory and rural development in López Obrador's administration and has more than 20 years of experience in the urban development and housing sectors.
The appointees join six others Sheinbaum picked on June 20. The president ultimately will select 19 secretaries of state and one legal adviser.
Sheinbaum's preference so far for experts in their field, as opposed to politicians, is good for Mexico, said Gabriela Siller Pagaza, director of economic and financial analysis at Banco BASE and economics professor at Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education.
"The announced cabinet members contrast with the current president's policy of prioritizing loyalty over capacity and knowledge," Siller Pagaza said.
"The market took well to last week's news of Marcelo Ebrard as secretary of economy, who will be tasked with taking charge of the negotiations in the revision of [the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement] in 2026, and together with Juan Ramón de la Fuente as secretary of foreign affairs, promoting the arrival of foreign direct investment and taking better advantage of nearshoring," she added.
Sheinbaum's first group got a 60% approval rating, according to an El Financiero report, with Ebrard's announcement being the most popular.
Not present at Thursday's press conference was Rogelio Ramírez de la O, the current finance secretary who will continue at his post under Sheinbaum's administration and will present the 2025 economic package. He has experience counseling Mexican and international companies and is a leading researcher studying the automotive industry, Mexico-U.S. trade, monetary policy and foreign debt.
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