Mexico’s president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum introduced more members who are set to join her cabinet when she takes office on October 1.
One of them is Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina, who is expected to become infrastructure, communications and transport minister. Like other members of the incoming cabinet, Esteva has worked in Mexico City’s administration when Sheinbaum was mayor.
After obtaining a Master’s degree from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, he started as technical adviser in the capital’s public works department and became a director of infrastructure works.
Esteva oversaw the construction of vehicular bridges, primary avenues and is credited with managing the construction of the capital’s first cable car lines, 200km of cycling lanes and turning downtown into a pedestrian-only area.
During Sheinbaum’s term as mayor, Esteva led the city’s works and services ministry and had to deal with the collapse of an elevated stretch of metro line No. 12 in May 2021, when 26 people died and more than 100 were injured.
At federal level, Esteva will have to make President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s flagship infrastructure projects fully operational and sustainable. The list of projects includes the Maya train, the interoceanic corridor and Felipe Ángeles international airport (AIFA), all of which represent a fiscal burden and could cause bigger problems, considering the deficit Sheinbaum must deal with.
Esteva must also finish projects like the Mexico City-Toluca interurban train, the expansion of Mexico City’s metro line No. 12 and the construction of cable car line No. 3 in the capital – included in the Chapultepec Park project which connects Santa Fe district and locations near downtown.
On Wednesday, Sheinbaum told reporters that “it is very important for economic growth, the development of the country, and employment to continue with [public] works and public investment.”
She added that “it is not just about creating jobs now, but about self-sufficiency related to fuels, the development of the southeast and boosting tourism.” Most of the flagship infrastructure projects are in the country’s southeast.
Sheinbaum added that her transition team, led by Juan Ramón de la Fuente, is looking at 2025 budget planning, but she discarded fiscal reforms. De la Fuente is set to become foreign affairs minister and previously served as representative to the UN.
The president-elect has not yet presented her picks for the interior, public security, defense and navy ministries, among others.