Competition is intensifying in government circles over who will be the coordinating link between Claudia Sheinbaum and the business community. This week, the movement of Francisco Cervantes to head an investment promotion council, always under the tutelage of Carlos Slim, was particularly visible. This council, to be headed by Cervantes, who will leave the CCE (Employers' Confederation of the Mexican Republic) next week, aims to overshadow the original council, which is headed by Altagracia Gómez. The official explanation would be that Altagracia would handle the agenda for international investors and USMCA, while Cervantes should contribute to greater local investment. However, the tension between the two groups persists and generates various alignments in the cabinet: the Secretary of Finance, Edgar Amador, and the Secretary of the Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, would be more comfortable with Altagracia than with Cervantes. They also distrust Cervantes, believing he is desperate to join the government after his tenure at the CCE, where he could not manage his succession. Amador, for his part, has a tumultuous end to the year. LPO reported on his clash with the Bank of Mexico over growth estimates, and the banking sector was also displeased that he stated that the population, according to a CNBV survey, distrusts financial services. These intrigues add to other budgetary disputes or to the future of various dependencies under the orbit of the Secretariat that Amador has failed to fully control.
