President Calderon announces cabinet changes in his administration

In a ceremony broadcast live from Los Pinos (Mexico’s White House) today, various cabinet changes in the Felipe Calderon administration were announced. New Secretaries of the Hacienda (the Mexican I.R.S.), the Department of Health and the Department of Energy were presented and sworn in, as was the new Director of Communications for Public Security. Both the outgoing and incoming officials gave customary remarks, as did President Calderon. There’s probably little significance to the changes other than as a harbinger of the closing days of his term (some Cabinet members are returning to private sector careers or have resigned to pursue political opportunities). Mexico will elect a new president in 2012 – most likely one of several PRI candidates eagerly waiting in the wings – and Calderon is constitutionally prohibited from running again. Although there’s little time left for any of these cabinet officials to accomplish much, we’re sure to hear from the Public Security official on a regular basis. Whenever a case of major narco violence hits the country – usually several times a month – the Communications Director almost always makes a televised statement.