By Diego Oré and Anthony Esposito
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Thursday that she has chosen Lazaro Cardenas, a former congressman and governor and scion of two of Mexico’s most emblematic left-wing politicians, as her chief of staff.
The 60-year-old Cardenas is the son of Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, a veteran left-wing statesman in Mexico who co-founded the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), governed Mexico City and ran for president three times.
He is the grandson of former President Lazaro Cardenas, an icon of the Mexican left who ruled from 1934 to 1940 and nationalized the oil industry in 1938.
Cardenas said it would be “an honor” to fill the position, which was last held by businessman Alfonso Romo from 2018 to 2020.
“His role will be to keep an eye on the strategic issues of the government while maintaining relationships with various sectors,” Sheinbaum said at a news conference.
Sheinbaum’s campaign agenda includes promises to expand her predecessor’s popular social programs and boost operations at Mexico’s state-owned energy companies.
Cardenas served as coordinator of presidential advisers under current President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador before stepping down in 2023 to take a job at the regional bloc CELAC.
Political analyst Antonio Ocaranza said Cardenas has the skills to manage government projects and ensure discipline in Sheinbaum’s administration.
“He is a politician with extensive experience … who is able to engage in dialogues with diverse political, business and social sectors,” Ocaranza said.
In preparation for her inauguration on October 1, Sheinbaum, a physicist who won Mexico’s presidential election in a landslide in June, has announced several members of her administration.
Positions yet to be announced include the ministers of Defense, Navy, Labor, Tourism and Culture, and the directors of the state energy companies PEMEX and CFE.
(Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Diego Ore; Writing by Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Rod Nickel)
