Mexican Federal Deputy Tatiana Clouthier Carrillo. Photo: FaceBook

By KELIN DILLON

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) announced on the morning of Monday, Dec. 7, that he would be replacing several members of his cabinet, including proposing his former campaign coordinator, Tatiana Clouthier Carrillo, to replace the country’s current secretary of economy, Graciela Márquez Colín. 

AMLO proposed Márquez Colín to become a board member of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), an appointment that requires ratification from the Senate.

AMLO vouched for his choice in Clouthier, saying her “principles, integrity and honesty” make her the right fit for the role of secretary of economy. He insisted that this appointment was not to fill a “gender quota,” but out of necessity to have more peoples “characterized by honesty in public service.”

The president said he expected Clouthier to “continue promoting economic activity in the country,” have “good relations” with both the business and labor sectors, and “continue promoting foreign trade.”   

Clouthier was born in 1964 in Sinaloa. She comes from a political family, as her father, Manuel Clouthier, was the presidential candidate for the National Action Party (PAN) in 1988.

Several of her siblings have also followed her father’s political ambitions, although she has repeatedly distanced herself from accusations of familial nepotism, having said “I am not just a last name … I make my own way.”

Clouthier has a background in education, having worked as a professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey and the Centro Universitario México from 1989 to 1997 in English, Mexican History and Socioeconomics.

She held several titles in public service in Nuevo León, including secretary of tourism and coordinator of higher secondary education.

Clouthier was a member of the PAN from 1991 to 2005, serving as deputy for the party on several occasions, after which she resigned to become an independent legislator. 

She gained notoriety after becoming the coordinator of AMLO’s 2018 presidential run, using Twitter to communicate with young constituents during the election cycle, and was subsequently dubbed “La Tía Tatis.”

After AMLO successfully won the Mexican presidency, Clouthier served under his administration as a federal deputy for the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party.

…Dec. 8, 2020