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International markets do not know Carlos Urzúa the man who will lead the Ministry of Finance of December.
The lack of global experience of this academic worries some investors, who would have preferred to see a "heavyweight" of finance at the helm of the country's economy after Andrés Manuel López Obrador obtained the virtual triumph in the elections.
But Urzúa is not a recruit either. A doctor of economics from the University of Wisconsin, he managed the finances of Mexico City from 2000 to 2003 when López Obrador was head of government.
At that time, Urzúa stopped spending and the increase in the city's debt level in real terms during the term of his tenure was 3.3%, against 19% of the previous administration, according to data from the capital's government.
Urzúa himself is eager to tell investors Monday that he intends to remain fiscally disciplined, respect the autonomy of Banco de México (Banxico) and its floating exchange rate regime.
But not everyone is convinced. "The debate over Mexico's tax policy is largely off topic," Alonso Cervera Chief Economist of Latin America Credit Suisse said.
"It is the federal government that has set the limits of indebtedness to the city, the head of government and his team have nothing to say about it."
Urzúa will have to reconcile his commitment to fiscal discipline with López Obrador's campaign promises to promote social programs for young people and the elderly.
His team says Mexico could increase the 0.7 percent of GDP needed for these special programs by fighting corruption and cutting the salaries and benefits of top Mexican officials.
The case of Citigroup in Mexico predicts that with other promises, like not increasing gas prices in real terms for three years, Mexico's deficit could reach 4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) the largest in decades.
Urzúa left the Mexico City administration in the middle of his tenure and has worked in the academic sector since, as at Princeton or Georgetown, and will have a team with extensive financial experience.
It is expected that Arturo Herrera Executive of the World Bank and Gerardo Esquivel graduate of Harvard, will occupy senior positions in the Secretariat, he said.
López Obrador and his cabinet will assume their duties only on 1 December and will have to approve next year's budget in the middle of this month
"Carlos Urzúa is a respected academic and economist enough traditional, but it does not necessarily have the weight of the best-known Mexican economists in terms of the ability to move markets, "said Christopher Wilson, of Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
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