Commentators have since roasted Mr Peña Nieto for being weak and betraying Mexicans with the visit, which has rocked his cabinet and led to the resignation on Wednesday of the finance minister who masterminded the meeting.
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Meade, the new finance minister, is a friend of Videgaray’s and had served in the administration as foreign minister before moving to the social development ministry previous year. Pena Nieto, who remained quiet on the issue during the conference, later tweeted that he made it quite clear Mexico would not be paying for the wall. Videgaray was considered by many to be Nieto’s closest ally in the government.
Trump said at a joint news conference after his meeting with Pena Nieto that his demand that Mexico pay for a wall along the USA border had not been discussed.
The Financial Times and other global media reported Luis Videgaray will step down as Mexico’s finance minister, citing local media reports on Wednesday Sept. 7.
Hillary Clinton said in an exclusive interview with ABC’s DAVID MUIR yesterday that Donald Trump created a “diplomatic incident” last week with his trip to Mexico.
Mr Pena Nieto has faced criticism after Mr Trump’s brief visit, with many Mexicans complaining that the president was poorly advised by the people around him.
“In just a few hours, he managed to turn his trip to Mexico into an embarrassing worldwide incident”.
In 2014, Videgaray acknowledged he had bought a house from the same government contractor that sold a mansion to Pena Nieto’s wife, Angelica Rivera, in the administration’s deepest scandal.
The dollar climbed against the Mexican peso on Wednesday on reports Mexican Finance Minister Luis Videgaray has resigned.
Among possible PRI candidates for the presidency, Chong tops opinion polls.
A spokesperson for the ministry said Mr Videgaray would not take on another public office.
The resignation comes shortly before the government presents its 2017 budget with cuts needed to restore confidence after rating agency Standard & Poor’s last month said it could cut the country’s credit rating following a marked increase in debt.
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However, his chances could be bolstered by a revival on his watch of Mexico’s economy, which contracted in the second quarter for the first time in three years.
