Politics · Mexico · 1 hr ago
Book recounts clash between López Obrador and finance chief over national plan
Historian Andrew Paxman’s book recounts a dispute between Mexico’s then-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador and finance chief Carlos Urzúa in 2019.
Urzúa’s team had spent months preparing the National Development Plan, a document outlining future investment in infrastructure and public services.
According to Paxman, López Obrador told his adviser Manuel José Pedro Miguel Arce Montoya to rewrite the plan as a manifesto, giving it a stronger critique of neoliberalism.
Urzúa objected to the revised text and said it violated the law.
López Obrador argued that Urzúa’s version did not reflect the language and politics of his government.
Urzúa resigned two months after their dispute, later leaving a critical letter about the president’s planned economic policy.
The account offers a look at tensions inside López Obrador’s government over the plan that was due to go to Congress in May 2019.
Historian Andrew Paxman’s book recounts a clash between Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his finance secretary, Carlos Urzúa, over Mexico’s National Development Plan.
Urzúa’s team had spent months preparing the plan, which was due to be submitted to Congress in May 2019.
According to Paxman, López Obrador instructed adviser Manuel José Pedro Miguel Arce Montoya to rewrite it as a manifesto.
Urzúa objected to the revised document and said it violated the law, while López Obrador criticized it as too neoliberal.
Urzúa resigned from the Finance Ministry two months after the confrontation.
- Who
- Former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador and then finance secretary Carlos Urzúa.
- What
- They clashed over a rewritten version of Mexico’s National Development Plan.
- When
- In 2019; Urzúa resigned two months after the confrontation.
- Where
- The account concerns events inside Mexico’s National Palace and the Finance Ministry. The precise location of their confrontation is not stated.
- Why
- Urzúa objected to the revised plan, while López Obrador said it did not reflect the language of his government.
Carlos Urzúa
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
National Development Plan
Carlos Urzúa
Urzúa objected to the revised document and said it represented a violation of the law.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
López Obrador said Urzúa’s plan did not reflect his government’s language and seemed neoliberal.
Urzúa’s team worked for several months on the National Development Plan, which was due to be submitted to Congress in May.
López Obrador asked how the plan was progressing and, according to Paxman, told adviser Manuel José Pedro Miguel Arce Montoya to rewrite it.
Urzúa confronted López Obrador over the revised plan.
Urzúa resigned from the Finance Ministry.
- Book
- Andrés Manuel: Una biografía en 50 episodios
- Author
- Historian Andrew Paxman
- Plan deadline
- May 2019
- Plan recipient
- Congress
- Urzúa’s resignation
- Two months after the confrontation
1 source
What people are saying
Hazlo tú (...) lo que quiero es manifiesto
Tu plan podría haber sido escrito para Zedillo o Peña Nieto
el documento representaba una violación a la ley
Posts on X
¡Así fue este episodio! Y pinta a mi papá de cuerpo entero. Gracias por recordarlo, @AWPaxman y @HernanGomezB.