Senate Confirms Independent Board Members for CFE, PEMEX

Mexico’s Senate ratified four independent board members for CFE and PEMEX, following nominations by President Claudia Sheinbaum. Each appointment was approved separately by a two-thirds majority during a plenary session. Cecilia Martín del Campo and Héctor Sánchez were confirmed for the CFE board, while María del Rosío Vargas and Juan José Paullada were approved for PEMEX.

Martín del Campo, confirmed with 65 votes in favor, will serve a five-year term. She holds degrees in energy engineering from UNAM and nuclear engineering from France’s Institut National des Sciences et Techniques Nucléaires, along with a Ph.D. in physical sciences from the University of Paris. She has previously led the Energy Planning Unit at UNAM’s School of Engineering and collaborated with CFE on energy transition studies.

Sánchez, who was ratified with 68 votes in favor, 20 against and three abstentions, will serve a four-year term. He is an electrical engineer from Instituto Politécnico Nacional and holds a master's degree in constitutional law. He has served as an independent CFE board member since 2019 and advised the municipality of Juchitan de Zaragoza, Oaxaca, on sustainable energy.

For PEMEX, Paullada was approved with 80 votes in favor and 10 against. He will serve a four-year term. A lawyer with a degree from Universidad Anáhuac, he also holds a master’s in public administration from the University of Southern California. He completed postgraduate studies in economics at Boston University and in tax law at Harvard. He previously served as Mexico’s tax attorney general and has taught at Anáhuac and ITAM.

Vargas Suárez was confirmed with 71 votes in favor, 19 against. She will serve a three-year term. An economist by training, she holds degrees from UAM, CIDE and UNAM, including a doctorate in energy engineering. Her previous roles include specialist coordinator at PEMEX Gas and Basic Petrochemicals and foreign trade analyst at the Ministry of Finance.