Meade, who was at the helm of the Social Development Ministry, has served as head of finance during the Presidential term of Felipe Calderon (2006-2012), and also as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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The bill Piter is proposing would specifically cancel the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War and ceded Texas and California as well as parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming to the USA if Trump cancels NAFTA. But after the meeting, the public and many politicians believed Nieto appeared submissive in the presence of the outspoken and arrogant Trump.
FILE – A demonstrator protests against the visit of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, Mexico, Aug. 31, 2016.
“President Pena Nieto realized things could not stay as they were, and that they could no longer insist that it had been a good call” to invite Trump.
Luis Carlos Ugalde, director general of the consultancy Integralia Consultores, said Videgaray’s resignation could be linked to the Trump visit.
Although an investigation led by the minister for public administration cleared Videgaray and Pena Nieto of wrongdoing a year ago, critics questioned the probe because it was conducted by someone the president had picked.
Several Democratic lawmakers are upset with Republican nominee Donald Trump’s visit to Mexico, blaming the country for meddling in American politics.
But within hours of leaving Mexico, Trump was telling a cheering crowd of supporters in Phoenix, Ariz., that Mexico would pay for the border wall “100 per cent”, prompting fresh ridicule of Pena Nieto at home. 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.
Pena Nieto acknowledged the “enormous indignation” among Mexicans over Trump’s presence in the country and repeated that he told the candidate in person that Mexico would in no way pay for the proposed border wall. But he would face a tough fight against rivals from the conservative National Action Party and leftist firebrand Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The budget proposal will be under scrutiny after rating agency Standard & Poor’s last month said it could cut Mexico’s credit rating following a marked increase in debt.
Videgaray will not take another public post, the spokeswoman said.
Several members of Pena Nieto’s cabinet are quietly positioning themselves for a run at the presidency in 2018, and Meade’s new role contains pitfalls for anybody with ambitions for higher office.
Videgaray is also blamed for the plummeting price of domestic oil; being part of the failed energy reform; the lack of investment; and overall stagnation of the Mexican economy.
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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.
