Changes to the President's Cabinet

New changes to the President's cabinet 

Two changes are about to take place at the cabinet of President Enrique Peña Nieto ; one for today and another for Thursday. We've been told the Minister of Public Education, Aurelio Nuño , presents this Wednesday his resignation so he can lead the campaign of José Antonio Meade as the aspiring presidential candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). And the general director of the Mexican Institute on Social Security ( IMSS ), Mikel Arriola , steps down from his charge tomorrow to enlist as aspiring candidate to Mayor of Mexico City. The first names to take over both positions are the Deputy Secretary of Planning, Evaluation, and Coordination of the Ministry of Education, Otto Granados , and the director if Incorporation and Tax Collection of the IMSS, Tuffic Ortega . Our sources say these two appointments will be the last of the year at the legal and extended cabinet of the Head of State.

Dante, a reliable man?

“The most reliable people are traitors because you can always count on a traitor betraying you when the moment comes.” That is how Dante Delgado , national leader of the center-left Citizen's Movement Party ( MC ) is described among the inner circle of Miguel Ángel Mancera . We were told that ages ago, when neither the conservative National Action Party ( PAN ) or the left Democratic Revolution Party ( PRD ) were thinking about coalitions and fronts to change the country, the Mayor of Mexico City shared this reflection with Dante, then-conceived as a “fourth pole.” The same Dante who claimed his support in favor of the national leader of the PAN, Ricardo Anaya as the presidential candidate of the Citizen's Front for Mexico and who magnanimously offered Mancera the leadership of the Senate, despite polls showing the current Mayor is the favorite. And to add insult to injury, Delgado has said that if in 72 hours the Front isn't consolidated, his party will make the corresponding decisions.

A failed token of gratitude

The Senate summoned the ambassadors of the countries which supported Mexico during the emergency lived because of the September earthquakes to thank them during a solemn ceremony yesterday. However, given the 200 protesters against the Law on National Security who blocked the Offices on Paseo de la Reforma, the ceremony didn't take place. Neither diplomats, senators, or even Ana Lilia Herrera, the chairwoman of the Politic Coordination Board – among others – were able to get close to the facilities. Thus far, the ceremony to thank the countries who showed us their friendship and support hasn't been rescheduled.

Who will be the new Auditor General?

A very interesting and intense lobbying is brewing in the Chamber of Deputies with the hearings of the aspiring candidates to Auditor General. We've been told the candidates with the best chances are Á ngel Zaldívar, Mauricio Merino , and Raúl Sánchez . Mr. Ángel is currently the head of the Systems, Data, and Transparency Unit of the Superior Audit Office of Mexico and knows full well the operation of the Office. Mr. Mauricio is a renowned academic and an expert in transparency and accountability. And Mr. Raúl was deputy secretary of Public Administration and General Manager of the Tax Audit Office of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit. One of these three will surely be the new Auditor General. Place your bets!

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