Jul 9, 2019

Mexico's finance minister resigns, pushing peso to biggest fall in 4 weeks

Dion Rabouin

Carlos Urzua Cordero. Photo: PEDRO PARDO/Getty Images

The Mexican peso fell 1.3%, the largest amount in 4 weeks, against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday after Mexico's Finance Minister Carlos Urzúa resigned unexpectedly.

What happened: Urzúa sent a letter to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in which he suggested members of the president's inner circle with "patent conflict of interest" had meddled in policy and that decisions had been made without "sufficient foundation."

Why it matters: López Obrador had worried investors as a candidate with his fiery rhetoric and hard-left policy prescriptions. But his choice of Urzúa, along with other more mainstream officials, for his cabinet had helped soothe market angst.

  • In his letter, Urzúa said "all economic policy should be based on evidence... free of all extremism, be it right or left." During his time in the administration he said that philosophy did not "find echo."

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Dave Lawler

Mexico's López Obrador is delivering the populism he promised

AMLO at the closing rally of his campaign. Photo: Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images

When Andrés Manuel López Obrador triumphed one year ago, it was unclear whether Mexico had elected the revolutionary populist from the campaign trail, or the more pragmatic figure from his tenure as mayor of Mexico City. We may now have the answer.

The latest: Finance Minister Carlos Urzúa excoriated the leftist president on Tuesday, penning a resignation letter that accused him of failing to base policy on evidence and empowering ideologues over experts.

Go deeperArrowJul 11, 2019
Rebecca Falconer

Mexico urges tighter gun control in U.S. after El Paso mass shooting

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Photo: Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador urged the U.S. at a news conference Monday to tighten gun control legislation following Saturday's shooting in El Paso, Texas, which left 22 people dead, including 8 Mexican nationals.

What he's saying: "We are very respectful of what other governments decide, but we think that these unfortunate events in the U.S. should prompt reflection, analysis and the decision to control the indiscriminate sale of guns," López Obrador said, per Bloomberg News.

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Keep ReadingArrowAug 6, 2019
Rebecca Falconer

El Paso mass shooting: Mexico threatens legal action against the U.S.

A memorial outside the Cielo Vista Mall Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Photo: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

Mexico threatened legal action Sunday against the U.S. for failing to protect its citizens after a shooting in the border city of El Paso, Texas, killed 20 people, including several Mexican nationals, the New York Times reports.

Details: Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the Mexican government was looking into extraditing the suspect to Mexico on a terrorism charge over Saturday's shooting, per CNN. Mexico also plans legal action against the seller who provided the weapon used in the attack, according to the NYT.

Go deeperArrowAug 5, 2019