Salvador Landeros Ayala, General Director of the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), has submitted his resignation through a letter addressed to President Claudia Sheinbaum. In his statement, he not only notified his separation from the position but also announced that the agency will soon disappear. Landeros Ayala expressed his desire to resign from the position he assumed on November 1, 2019, at the beginning of Andrés Manuel López Obrador's administration.
In the letter addressed to the federal leader dated January 24, Landeros Ayala explained that the main reason for his resignation is the little consideration given to the AEM, both in the budgetary and administrative aspects, despite being the body responsible for coordinating the country's space activities. In his own words, "the AEM has not been given the importance it deserves, neither budgetary nor administratively, and should be the integrating and articulating organism of Mexico's space activities."
Despite his efforts, Landeros Ayala lamented not having been able to convey the relevance of the AEM for the scientific, technological, and educational development of the country to either President Sheinbaum or the head of the Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications, Pablo Merino. Although he emphasized the importance of keeping the AEM operational, he was ultimately informed of its imminent elimination. In his letter, he expressed his regret over this decision, given the effort devoted to its creation and the national and international recognition it had achieved over the years, despite the limited budgets it had.
Salvador Landeros Ayala is a mechanical-electrical engineer with a specialization in telecommunications from UNAM, with a master's degree in science from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in engineering (telecommunications) from UNAM. Throughout his career, he has held several prominent positions, including director of the National Satellite System, where he oversaw the launch of the Morelos I and II telecommunications satellites.
With a strong academic experience of 40 years, including collaborations at institutions such as the Polytechnic University of Madrid and UNAM, Landeros Ayala has made a significant mark in the field of telecommunications and engineering. In the industry, he has served as General Director of Consulting in Telecommunications Projects at TELSAT, S.A. de C.V., working for clients such as Pemex, CFE, Grupo Cifra, among others.
