“(The appointment) sends the message that pragmatism won over ideology and I think that is very positive for the energy sector,” says Oscar Ocampo, from the Mexican Institute of Competitiveness (IMCO). “Obviously it will depend a lot on who is appointed in Pemex and in the CFE, but from the outset it is a good message and it is also a message that anticipates a change of course in energy policy and that is more than welcome.”
Sector analysts feared the appointment of a more political than technical profile – like that of Rocío Nahle – in the agency that directs the energy sector, which during the last six-year term has without self-criticism prioritized support for the state companies CFE and Pemex. Now the doubt lies in the apparent little experience that González Escobar has in the market and her technical knowledge in two such complex industries, such as oil and electricity.
“I see a nod to sustainability, we will see what he does while he is there (in the position) but it does not raise alarm bells,” shares Viviana Patiño, researcher at México Evalúa.
Sheinbaum has defended the economist’s profile, citing Gonzalez Escobar’s experience in the Secretariat of Administration and Finance of Mexico City and has used him as an example as a demonstration of the skills that the new secretary could show in her new position, facing a state oil company that has marginally reduced its debt and faces major doubts about its business plan from the financial sector and the market.
Gonzalez Escobar, according to the resume read this morning by the virtual president-elect, includes being a graduate of the “Leadership for the environment and development” program of the College of Mexico, having a diploma in sustainable development from the Universidad Iberoamericana and having been an advisor to the Institute National Ecology. She also, Sheinbaum said, was part of the front that coordinated the photovoltaic panel project at the Mexico City supply center.
“A financial profile tells us a lot about the fact that he will be very careful with all financial aspects, which seems to me to be a very prudent decision. In addition, he has a background in environmental issues, which is consistent with what was said throughout the campaign, about promoting the energy transition and combating climate change. And I think that the appointment of the undersecretaries will also be very important,” says Julia González, a lawyer specializing in energy matters at the González Calvillo law firm.
González Escobar’s financial challenge will be much greater than the one he faced in Mexico City. The government of Claudia Sheinbaum has committed to continuing the legacy of the Obradorismo in terms of the “rescue” of Petróleos Mexicanos, which includes continuing to manage resources from the Treasury to pay liabilities and amortizations of the oil company and get the Dos Bocas refinery up and running.
“The financial profile is a sign that there is strong concern about performance. Luz Elena González would also have to absorb the tasks of the National Hydrocarbons Commission and the Energy Regulatory Commission – if these disappear – and the extinction of the special regime of productive state companies. I am concerned that they are taking so long to appoint Pemex and CFE and that this will begin to be perceived as appointments that do set off alarm bells, and it seems to me that giving out information in dribs and drabs in this regard can sow uncertainty about the lack of cohesion or determination in the vision to follow for energy policy,” says Ana Lilia Moreno, coordinator of the Competition and Regulation Program at México Evalúa.
“If the Ministry of Energy puts a moderate profile – like that of Luz Elena González – but the productive companies of the State go another way, the signs would continue that Pemex and CFE are the energy operators of their centralized decisions. ”, completes Patiño, also from México Evalúa. “The heads of Pemex and CFE are going to shed much more light on the direction that Claudia Sheinbaum will follow in energy.”
