11-07-19 Latin American Weekly Report

There was never going to be a good time for Mexico’s finance minister
Carlos Urzúa to tender his resignation. But his decision to do so as
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s main public security initiative,
the formation of a national guard (GN), is being forcefully challenged amid
protests by the federal police (PF), compounded the blow. Urzúa did not go
quietly. He published a trenchant resignation letter in which he accused
the government of extremism and unqualified officials of meddling in
financial matters they do not understand, denuding him of autonomy of
action. It was a damning indictment. López Obrador sought to limit the
damage by appointing a similarly moderate finance minister in Urzúa’s
stead but his comments will have confirmed the suspicions of the markets
and foreign investors that the finance ministry does not exert a restraining
influence on the López Obrador administration.