Her first action after becoming minister in June 2023 was to represent her country in Brussels at the EU-Community of Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC) summit chaired by European Council President Charles Michel.
But Alicia Barcena Ibarra, as her full name is, is everywhere like “home,” something unusual for Mexico’s political customs and mores, especially because of the language. It is clear that the country’s foreign minister feels comfortable speaking English fluently due to her previous multi-year tenure at the UN. She was the first woman appointed by then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Boon to head the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for 14 years, from July 1, 2008 to March 31, 2022. Previously, she served as Under-Secretary-General for Administration at United Nations Headquarters in New York, while also serving as Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff to Kofi Annan, then UN Secretary-General.
At the international organization, she acquired experience that will serve her well in her next ministerial position. At ECLAC, she was, among other things, Deputy Executive Secretary and Director of the Directorate for Environment and Human Settlements at the UN, Coordinator of the Sustainable Development Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Coordinator of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Since October, Alicia Barsena has been Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. A critical ministry, to which the new President Sheinbaum attaches great importance.
Not only because she herself has written specialist articles and two books on energy, environment and sustainable development and has contributed as an author to assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), but also because among her 100 programmatic objectives is the promotion of the energy transition, the development of renewable energy sources and the fight against climate change.
“Continuation of Obrador’s policy with changes”
We met Ms. Barcena at a reception at the French Embassy in Mexico City to mark the country’s National Day. She said she was excited to be joining the cabinet of a female president. “This is a very important step forward for our country and for the entire world. It will be a great success on many fronts. Firstly, because it is a woman president for the first time in 200 years. Secondly, I think it is a continuation of a great transformation plan introduced by the outgoing SS president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.”
With Scheinbaum as president, we will have continuity but with changes, which means that she will give special emphasis to specific areas. Obviously, she will cooperate with social agencies, with the people. For example, the other day he announced big plans for infrastructure and energy. He is someone who is also very committed to the environment and, I would say, to women as well. So she said something that I really like, that I will not achieve this alone, I will achieve this together with all of you, with all the women in the country.”
Alicia Barcena is preparing for her next post. She is being briefed by outgoing Environment Minister Maria Luisa Alvarez on the challenges ahead, but she is not worried. She first wants to complete her term as Foreign Minister in an area of higher priority for the current Obrador government, which is the mobility model to deal with irregular immigration in light of respect for human rights.
“Of course, we are looking at many other issues in the world, looking at what is happening in Europe, Asia and the Pacific,” he told us. “And of course, our relationship with North America, which is vital, Latin America and the Caribbean. We will have a visit from President Lula very soon, probably before the end of López Obrador’s term.”
Promoting relations with the EU
She will be succeeded as Minister of Foreign Affairs by former Mexican Ambassador to the UN Juan Ramon de la Fuente, Professor of Medicine and former Rector of UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico), with brilliant studies in surgery and psychiatry, including at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota, member of several scientific societies and former president of the Mexican Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.
He has recently become close to Sheinbaum, who asked him to organise the so-called “Dialogues for Transformation” roundtables, which has increased support for his candidacy. Bárcena’s successor will have to promote Mexico’s relations with the EU at the political level, but also at the economic and trade level. The signing of the updated EU-Mexico Agreement is pending. The EU is Mexico’s third largest trading partner, after the US and China.
“I think the EU is a very important partner for us,” he told us. “We were almost ready to bring them in. I think it will be possible in the near future with the new cabinet. We have Marcelo Ebrar, the new finance minister, Juan Ramon de la Fuente, who will replace me. With Europe we have many things, including projects, investments, the Global Gateway, which I think is a great initiative. We definitely need to work together on many fronts. Energy is one of them. I think Germany has done a lot in this area.”
Omitted from N’s question to Mexico’s new president
At Politicum, N’s presence at the press conference of Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, was highlighted by all Mexican media outlets, when she answered in English a question about what it means to be the country’s first female president. She was at a high-profile event with Mexican participants and journalists, where she introduced the next head of the Presidency’s Cabinet, drawing attention in her country for her linguistic prowess in another language.
“What does being a woman president mean for Mexico, for America, for the continent and for the whole world?” asked a correspondent for a Greek newspaper, to which Sheinbaum responded clearly and precisely, first in Spanish and then in English, translating herself. This is noted in the articles. “Actually quite humorously,” he said smiling, “to see if it will come out.” Not only did she end up coming out, but Scheinbaum also received credit from Mexican reporters, who seemed impressed by her level of English.
Of course, for a politician like Sheinbaum, who holds a PhD from Berkley, USA, one would think that knowledge of English comes naturally. But not in the Mexican reality. The outgoing president, Obrador, does not speak English, or does not want to speak English, and travels very little abroad and only exceptionally to his northern neighbor. This is expected to change under the new president. Sheinbaum not only has a sense of humor, but will also be more outgoing and will apply what has been intensely discussed in Europe in recent years: female diplomacy and its beneficial effects on foreign policy…
* Extra Collaboration