López Obrador apologizes to central bank governor and promises autonomy

Acapulco (Mexico), 24 Mar Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday offered an apology to the governor of the Bank of Mexico (Banxico), Victoria Rodríguez Ceja, for her unprecedented action to advance the monetary decision of the central bank, whose autonomy she promised to respect. “I want to offer an apology to the governor of the Banco de México and to the lieutenant governors because I received the information last night that they had made the decision to increase the rate to 6.5%,” the president said at the inauguration of the 85 Banking Convention in Acapulco. López Obrador apologized to Rodríguez Ceja, after the controversy he created in the morning, when in his daily press conference he broke all precedent by announcing that the central bank would announce a 50-point increase in the interest rate to 6.50% on Thursday. In response to his statements, the opposition accused him of violating Banxico's autonomy and of violating the law, which states that the central bank's decisions are confidential, but the president alleged confusion. “I thought it had already been made public and this morning I talked about it, but I want to tell you that I reaffirm my commitment to respecting the autonomy of the Banco de México,” the president justified. The president inaugurated the annual convention of the Mexican Banking Association (ABM), which this Thursday returned to its traditional headquarters in Acapulco after the pandemic. In front of the representatives of the more than 50 institutions that make up the top of the Mexican financial sector, the president made a “commitment” that “the rules in the management of banking policy will not change.” “Nor will new regulations or controls be put in place and a genuine rule of law will continue to prevail,” he said. López Obrador also reiterated that he will not put “any obstacles in the transaction” of the sale of the Mexican National Bank (Banamex) announced last January by US CitiGroup. Even so, it recommended “in a respectful manner” that “the new shareholders or owners should preferably be Mexicans, that they are aware of their contributions to the Public Treasury, that they comply with the payment of taxes that such a sale will entail.” He also called for “that the cultural heritage of Banamex become part of the national heritage and be publicly exhibited for the enjoyment of Mexicans.” “It is nothing more than a recommendation, because it is an economic, commercial operation,” he said. CHIEF ppc/ia/jrh (photo) (video)