The ambassador to China, Jesús Seade, is one of the few main figures in the diplomatic corps who did not react to the appointment of Roberto Velasco as the new foreign minister. Seade has had a bad relationship with Velasco since he was the communications director at the Foreign Ministry led by Marcelo Ebrard. It was common for the then Undersecretary for North America to blame Velasco for his misfortunes in the press. Seade also believes that Velasco did not support his failed attempt to lead the WTO, a position he aspired to from his post as undersecretary without taking a leave of absence, which annoyed Andrés Manuel López Obrador. A movement that began in January but gained momentum last month at the Banking Convention in Quintana Roo, where Seade was invited by a relative who worked on the event's organization. In talks with some bankers, Seade highlighted his experience and good relations in Asia as his main attributes to be foreign minister. At the beginning of the year, Seade calculated that the replacement for De la Fuente would be the head of office Lázaro Cárdenas Bátel, who would have had the initial offer from Claudia Sheinbaum, which he declined again. But when Velasco began to be strongly considered, the ambassador in Beijing activated his lobbying. Seade had China's approval for the WTO and expected support from Velasco and Ebrard to get Washington's, which never happened. With the chance of being foreign minister gone, the ambassador now seeks a transfer to Washington, where he would like to replace Esteban Moctezuma. So far, he has avoided congratulating the newly promoted appointee of Claudia Sheinbaum. And that's because Seade wanted to replace Juan Ramón De la Fuente. The loudest criticisms in recent hours have come either from former ambassadors opposed to the official government, such as Arturo Sarukhán, or from secondary figures with a certain amount of resentment, like the former ambassador Agustín Gutiérrez. He also has a Plan B, somewhat more modest: to be the representative to the OECD in Paris. Velasco, for his part, has had a positive initial reception, at least in the diplomatic sphere.
