Gerónimo Gutierrez, fifth Mexican ambassador to the US in five years

The Secretariat of Foreign Relations (SRE), which is now led by Luis Videgaray, prepares its first castling, designating Gerónimo Gutierrez, former deputy secretary for North America, as Mexico’s new ambassador to the United States, replacing Carlos Manuel Sada.

Screenshot: “Geronimo Gutierrez, gerente general BDAN”, by Jose Acosta. Source: Youtube

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At the Mexican embassy in the north, this is the fifth change since that has happened in the six-year term and it is scheduled to take place a week after Donald Trump is sworn in as president of the United States.

Gerónimo Gutiérrez holds a degree in Economics from ITAM, with a master’s degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and during the presidential administration of Vicente Fox, he was head of the Planning, Communication and Liaison Unit of the Secretariat of Economy.

In spite of his economic background, Gutiérrez has diplomatic experience in the region, since from 2003 to 2006 – during the presidency of Vicente Fox – he occupied the undersecretary for North America.

Original image: “Mexican Cultural Institute DC”, by Farragutful, licencia Genérica de Atribución/Compartir-Igual 3.0, vía Wikimedia Commons

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According to expert analysts, this change suggests that the Mexican government will seek to position economic discussions with the new US government, which has mentioned its intention to break with the Latin American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Agreement on Economic Cooperation.

Another mission for the new ambassador is to try to mitigate Trump’s tough stance on his intention to withdraw US investment from Mexican soil and return it to the United States, like it already happened with the automaker Ford, which abandoned its investment plans in San Luis Potosí to produce automobiles in his country of origin.

Five ambassadors in five years

In the five years that Enrique Peña Nieto has been in the Presidency, the same number of changes has been made at the Mexican Embassy in the United States.

Original image: “Luis Videgaray”, courtesy of Presidencia de la República

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The first person responsible for representing the Mexican state in the northern neighbor was Arturo Sarukhán, who on January 10, 2013, a little more than a year after the administration of Peña Nieto, was replaced by Eduardo Medina Mora, who during Fox’s and Calderón’s administration held the leadership of the National Research and Security Center (CISEN) and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), respectively.

It wasn’t until 2009 that he was appointed ambassador of Mexico to the United Kingdom, then to the United States and finally elected as Supreme Court Justice Minister.

The third ambassador of Mexico to the United States was Alejandro Estivill Castro, who only lasted six months in the position – from March to September of 2015 -, leaving in charge the academic and ex- president of the World Association for the Investigation of Public Opinion, Miguel Basáñez Ebergenyi, who remained in office for only seven months.

After Miguel Basáñez, Carlos Manuel Sada Solana – from PRI – was appointed. He had some diplomatic experience as a Mexican consul in Toronto, San Antonio, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.

Original image, source: Twitter of Carlos Sada

It is worth mentioning that Ambassador Carlos Sada Solana will attend the inauguration of President-elect of the USA. Donald J. Trump, Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C.

Source: http://www.mexiconewsnetwork.com