Politics: A new balance of forces under AMLO
Carlos Urzúa’s abrupt resignation last week as minister of finance cast a new light on the sorts of rivalries plaguing the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, as well as the pitfalls of trying to manage such an ideologically diverse array of appointees.
There is nothing particularly unusual about a finance minister resigning in Mexico, but Urzúa is a case apart not only because of how little time he remained in his post, but also because of the reasons for his departure, which he mentioned in his resignation letter: a tendency in this administration to make decisions without first conducting the necessary studies, a penchant for ideological extremism “whether from the right or the left” end of the spectrum, and the practice of imposing officers who lack a basic understanding of the policy areas they are being assigned to, appointments often made over the objections of the relevant cabinet ministers.
On this last point Urzúa clearly had in mind Raquel Buenrostro, a long-time AMLO associate chosen as the finance ministry’s Head Officer, a post from which she has emerged as the architect and chief enforcer of López Obrador’s austerity policies, as well as the manager of spending policy throughout the entire government, with little-to-no regard for the opinions of the affected cabinet members. But his comments were also directed at the head of the Office of the Presidency, Alfonso Romo, who as well as Buenrostro has placed his own people in key posts within the finance bureaucracy, especially within the country’s development banks.
How are we to understand the balance of power following Urzúa’s departure? On an ideological level, the scales appear to have been further tilted in favor of those seeking a clear break with past policy over the pragmatic camp. The latter clearly includes the new finance minister, Arturo Herrera, but he lacks the personal prestige and gravitas that Urzúa enjoyed, although to little effect in AMLO’s administration.
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