Economist Proposed as First Woman on Bank of Mexico Board
January 19 2018 - 12:01AM
Dow Jones News
By Juan Montes
MEXICO CITY -- Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has proposed
Irene Espinosa, an economist and senior finance ministry official,
to fill the vacant position on the Bank of Mexico's board of
governors, according to a notice sent to Mexico's Congress on
Thursday.
If confirmed by the Senate as a deputy governor, as is expected
in the coming weeks, Ms. Espinosa would become the first woman to
serve on the central bank's five-member board, which functions as
the Bank of Mexico's interest-rate-setting committee.
Ms. Espinosa couldn't immediately be reached to comment.
Analysts said the appointment honors a respected economist who
has served the last nine years as the treasurer at the finance
ministry. The decision also highlights Mr. Peña Nieto's efforts to
increase the visibility of women in the country's top economic
positions, the analysts said.
"She will inject a lot of freshness into the Bank of Mexico,"
said Jonathan Heath, an independent economist. "She is not an
expert in monetary policy but has a solid economic education and is
very smart."
Ms. Espinosa would fill the deputy governor position vacated by
Alejandro Díaz de León when he was promoted to governor of the
central bank. His predecessor, Agustin Carstens, stepped down to
lead the Bank for International Settlements, which is often called
the central bank of central banks.
Ms. Espinosa would join the central bank at a difficult time.
Mexico's inflation is at 6.8% -- its highest level in 17 years and
more than twice the central bank's 3% target -- the economy is
slowing down and the peso remains volatile given uncertainty over
the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Most economists expect the central bank to increase its
overnight interest rate target by a quarter percentage point to
7.5% at its February meeting, which would be its second consecutive
rate increase, in an effort to keep inflation expectations under
control.
Ms. Espinosa studied economics at the Autonomous Technological
Institute of Mexico, a private university that has produced many
top Mexican economic officials. She was a professor of economics
there in the late 1990s.
The sister of a former foreign relations minister, Ms. Espinosa
worked at the Inter-American Development Bank before being
appointed in 2009 as treasurer at the finance ministry by former
President Felipe Calderón. There she earned a reputation as a
hardworking, discreet public servant.
Write to Juan Montes at juan.montes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 18, 2018 23:46 ET (04:46 GMT)
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