New Ministry of Education head / Talks with Biden

New Head of the Ministry of Education. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced Delfina Gómez Álvarez as the new Head of the Ministry of Education (SEP), replacing Esteban Moctezuma Barragán. This month, Moctezuma was proposed as the new ambassador to the US as current Ambassador Martha Barcena is retiring. “The education position will be occupied for the first time by a primary schoolteacher. Moreover, with her designation, there are now nine women in the federal cabinet,” López Obrador said. Previously, Delfina served as a municipal president, deputy and senator for Texcoco. She is a federal delegate of the Welfare Programs in the State of Mexico.

Deputy López Aparicio passes away. President López Obrador lamented the death of Morena Deputy Delfino López Aparicio, who died from COVID-19. López Aparicio was a representative of District 25 in the State of Mexico, in Chimalhuacan, and a member of four commissions in San Lazaro. He was secretary of the Commission for Attention to Vulnerable Groups and he participated as a member in the Concord and Pacification of the Congress of the Union (Bicamaral), Science, Technology and Innovation, and Indigenous People commissions. “I would like to send my condolences to friends and relatives of Congressman Delfino López Aparicio, who died from COVID-19. Moreover, I send my condolences to all those people who have lost someone due to the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.

Migration was the main topic in talk with Biden. López Obrador said that his discussion with US President-elect Joe Biden focused on migration issues. “It was a very respectful talk. We talked about migration issues and how they are going to be addressed. Biden wants to support the development of several countries in Central America, especially Mexico," López Obrador said. Regarding Biden’s inauguration in January, the president said he has not been invited. López Obrador said that was because the talk only lasted 20 minutes as he was on a tour in the south of Mexico.

Flights will continue despite the new strain of COVID-19. Several European countries have canceled flights due to the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus; however, the president said Mexico will not take these measures. "These countries are closing airports; they don’t want to receive flights. We are not going to do the same. We have specialists who know how to implement the appropriate measures. We don’t want to scare our people," he announced. López Obrador emphasized that the Ministry of Health is analyzing the situation to decide if flights will continue to and from the UK, which was the first country to report on the existence of the new strain. Moreover, the president said that there would be a report tomorrow on the actions that the government will implement to ensure the well-being of Mexicans.

The government has saved millions by decreasing corruption. The president said that Mexico doesn’t need to increase its debt to obtain more resources because the country has improved its finances by implementing its austerity plan and not allowing corruption. “I calculate that we have saved MX$1.5 billion (US$75 million) by collecting taxes from those who didn’t pay," he said. Moreover, he said that despite the economic crisis, the government has collected MX$3.9 trillion (US$195 billion), which is MX$1 trillion (US$50 billion) more than last year,” he said.

Diplomatic note related to Cienfuegos will be released. López Obrador said the diplomatic note related to the arrest of Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, which was sent to the US to express the president’s disagreement over Cienfuegos’ arrest, will be released. Previously, the document had been classified for five years in order to avoid damaging the bilateral relationship between the two countries; however, the president said, "I instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General’s Office to declassify the note and this week, they will release a report about it." Gen. Cienfuegos served as the defense secretary for former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. In October, he was arrested on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. 

 Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish