The virtual president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum announced this Thursday some of the names that will make up her cabinet starting October 1 when she assumes the presidency of the country and in which the name of Juan Ramón de la Fuente stands out as head of Mexican diplomacy .
De la Fuente, born 72 years ago in Mexico City, is a well-known figure in politics, as he has a long career alongside governments of different types in various functions.
The future Secretary of Foreign Affairs was already part of the PRI Government of President Ernesto Zedillo, in which he served as Secretary of Health from 1994 to 1999.
De la Fuente, a doctor by training, is also a renowned academic, who has accumulated more than 19 Honoris Causa doctorates in different universities in Europe, North America and Latin America and whose resume highlights his work as rector of the UNAM, a position he held for eight years. (1999-2007).
Recently, he served as Mexico’s permanent representative at the United Nations between 2018 and 2023, during much of the six-year term of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The diplomatic challenges for Juan Ramón de la Fuente
“The international agenda will have continuity because there are many very good things that must be consolidated and maintained. And also incorporate some changes depending on the circumstances,” explained the next secretary after his appointment was announced.
De la Fuente highlighted Mexico’s “long diplomatic tradition of excellence and as a mediating country” and committed “to honor those traditions.”
The new Sheinbaum Government has already announced its open vision in international matters in contrast to the AMLO administration, who only went abroad seven times during his mandate.
In this sense, De la Fuente will address important challenges, some legacies of the previous six-year term and others linked to the most immediate current events.
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Firstly, there is the relationship with the United States, where former president Donald Trump (2017-2021), very belligerent with Mexico, could return to the White House after the November elections, which could imply a change after the good harmony that exists with the Government of President Joe Biden.
However, whoever wins, one of the keys to the bilateral relationship will be the review of the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (TMEC), the destination of more than 80% of Mexican exports and the main engine of the national economy. whose negotiations will begin in 2025.
Other challenges for the next chancellor will be Mexico’s lawsuit against Ecuador in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after the assault on the Mexican Embassy in Quito on April 5, and the repair of broken ties with Peru, a partner in the Alliance of the Pacific, after the declaration of ‘persona non grata’ by the Mexican ambassador in Lima.
With information from EFE
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