Mexico proposes controversial former environment minister as ambassador to the United Kingdom

Mexico, February 25 (EFE). – The Mexican government has proposed Josefa González Blanco, its controversial former head of the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry (Ceymarnat), as a new ambassador to the United Kingdom, Senate Gazette revealed on Thursday.

Gonzalez Blanco is known for resigning in May 2019, with only six months in office, after a flight from Mexico City to Tijuana was delayed by 38 minutes as she used her position to ask her wait despite arriving late. Airport.

After the scandal broke out, the academy became the first secretary in President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s government to resign.

The 55-year-old, born in Mexico City, also caused controversy in an interview in July 2018, after Lopez Obrador’s election victory, in which she said she believed in Alux, a dwarf from the imagination of the Mayans of southeastern Mexico.

Despite his controversial record, the UK ambassador to Mexico, Corinne Robertson, celebrated the appointment of Gonzalez Blanco, whose ratification depends on the Senate.

“Great news! Congratulations to Josefa Gonzalez Blanco on her appointment as Mexico’s Ambassador to the UK. It will be a pleasure to continue working together on the bilateral agenda and promoting the environment and climate change agenda,” said the British representative.

Cimarnat has also been a controversial agency as it is responsible for issuing environmental impact data (MIA) for Lopez Obrador priority projects in the southeast, such as the Maya Train and the Dos Bocas Refinery.

Gonzales Blanco’s successor, Victor Manuel Toledo, resigned in August 2020 after an audio clip of a private meeting was leaked criticizing “contradictions” and “power struggles” within the cabinet.

The current secretary, Maria Luisa Alboris, has faced legal appeals from indigenous people in the southeast who oppose the Maya train and question manifestations of environmental impact.

The Official Journal of the Senate also revealed that the government of Mexico has proposed Jose Quiroga as Mexico’s ambassador to Germany.

Kiruja was the Undersecretary for Mining at the Ministry of Economy (SE) until the federal government removed the position last August due to its “Republican austerity” policy. EFE

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