Government Names New Minister of Foreign Trade

Today, the Mexican government announced that Alejandro Encinas Nájera would replace Luz María de la Mora as Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade. Luis Abel Romero López was also appointed as Deputy Ministers of Industry and Trade. The restructuring of the agency, which is now under the command of Minister of Economy Raquel Buenrostro, has caused uncertainty regarding Mexico’s representation in the consultations on energy policy. De la Mora was asked to resign from her position on Thursday, Oct. 13.

“This team strengthens the dialogue within the Mexican Government, which is fundamental and indispensable for the coordinated preparation of responses to the USMCA consultations that prioritize dialogue and negotiation with legal arguments,” said Buenrostro as she introduced the new Deputy Ministers of Foreign Trade and Industry. 

Encinas holds a degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, a master’s degree in Political Science from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and a Ph.D. in Social Sciences and Humanities from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. From 2014 to 2018, he was the General Director of Strategic Research at the Belisario Domínguez Institute of the Senate of the Republic. Since the beginning of the current administration, he served as the point of contact for administering the labor chapters of trade agreements as head of the Labor Policy and Institutional Relations Unit of the Ministry of Labor, according to the Senate of the Republic.

De la Mora’s departure from the Ministry of Economy is the second high-profile departure in recent weeks of a female official involved in the negotiations with the US and Canada. Tatiana Clouthier resigned as Minister of Economy on Oct. 6. “This is extremely worrisome in the context of the consultation process requested by the US and Canada regarding Mexican energy policy under the USMCA, as well as the trade and economic agenda with the US in general,” Arturo Sarukhan, former Mexican Ambassador to the US, told El Financiero. 

In July, the US and Canada filed complaints against Mexico’s energy policy, arguing that it discriminates against foreign companies seeking to operate in the Latin American country. De la Mora’s management, from December 2018 until now, was described as efficient and professional by experts in the sector. However, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador endorsed this morning the reengineering that Buenrostro is doing inside the Ministry of Economy.