Sheinbaum taps Roberto Lazzeri as Mexican ambassador to US

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

• ⚖️ Alcalde tapped as top legal adviser: Morena party president Luisa María Alcalde will join Sheinbaum’s cabinet as head of the presidential legal department on May 1, replacing Esthela Damián, who is stepping down to pursue the Morena gubernatorial candidacy in Guerrero in 2027.

• 🇺🇸 New ambassador to U.S. proposed: Sheinbaum confirmed her government is putting forward Roberto Lazzeri, current director of two development banks, as Mexico’s next ambassador to Washington. The appointment still requires U.S. acceptance and Senate ratification. Lazzeri is seen as well-positioned to engage on USMCA trade issues.

• 🇬🇧 Ebrard’s son’s London stay to face investigation: The Ministry of Anti-Corruption and Good Governance will investigate complaints over Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard’s adult son living at the Mexican ambassador’s London residence for six months in 2021–22. Ebrard was foreign minister at the time.

Why today’s mañanera matters

At today’s mañanera, President Sheinbaum confirmed that she is proposing Roberto Lazzeri, the director of two development banks, as ambassador to the United States.

The announcement comes at a crucial time in the Mexico-U.S. relationship: The mandated review of the USMCA free trade pact is taking place this year and there is currently heightened tension in the bilateral security relationship due to the CIA’s alleged involvement in anti-narcotics operations in the northern state of Chihuahua without the knowledge of the Mexican government.

Also of note at today’s mañanera was Sheinbaum’s revelation that an investigation into the stay of Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard’s son at the residence of the Mexican ambassador to the United Kingdom will take place.

This is particularly significant as it shows — or at least gives the appearance of showing — that the government is intent on combatting corruption, and will investigate alleged wrongdoings even if the case involves a very senior official.

Alcalde to become presidential legal adviser

Sheinbaum said that Luisa María Alcalde, a former labor minister and interior minister who is currently the president of the Morena party, will become the head of the legal department of the president’s office on May 1.

“Obviously there has to be the transition in the legal department as well as the process the Morena party has to follow [to appoint a new president],” she said.

Con profundo orgullo y agradecimiento, acepto la honrosa encomienda de la Presidenta @Claudiashein como Consejera Jurídica del @GobiernoMX.

Contenta de lo logrado hasta hoy al frente de Morena y feliz de seguir luchando del lado del pueblo y de la primera Presidenta de México.… pic.twitter.com/3kxTo7eYqg

— Luisa Alcalde (@LuisaAlcalde) April 22, 2026

Sheinbaum announced on Wednesday that she had asked Alcalde to be her top legal adviser as the person currently in the position, Esthela Damián Peralta, is leaving to pursue the Morena party’s candidacy for the 2027 gubernatorial election in Guerrero.

Alcalde announced on Wednesday afternoon that she accepted the president’s job offer.

“I have shared with the president that it would be an honor for me to continue contributing to the transformation from this trench,” she said in a video message.

Government proposes new ambassador to US 

Sheinbaum confirmed media reports that her government is proposing Roberto Lazzeri, director of the Mexican development banks Bancomext and Nacional Financiera, as Mexico’s next ambassador to the United States.

“It emerged that we’re proposing Roberto Lazzeri as ambassador in the United States. A whole process has to be followed. That’s why we hadn’t made it public,” she said.

Sheinbaum noted that Lazzeri previously worked in the Ministry of Finance with former Finance Minister Rogelio Ramírez de la O.

“He has a very good relationship with the entire Mexican government and with the counterparts in the United States,” she said.

“I appointed him to Nacional Financiera and in a very short time he transformed Nacional Financiera,” Sheinbaum said.

She suggested that Lazzeri is well-qualified to engage with the United States on trade issues as this year’s review of the USMCA free trade pact takes place.

“First, the United States has to accept [his appointment],” Sheinbaum said. “It’s a whole process.”

The Mexican Senate would also need to ratify Lazzeri’s appointment before he can assume the ambassadorial role in Washington, D.C.

Mexico’s current ambassador to the United States is Esteban Moctezuma, a former education minister. He became ambassador in early 2021 during the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Government to investigate Ebrard’s son’s stay at Mexican ambassador’s residence in London

Sheinbaum said that complaints had been filed with the Ministry of Anti-Corruption and Good Governance regarding the six-month stay of Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard’s son in the London residence of the Mexican ambassador to the United Kingdom.

“Automatically, an investigation has to be opened,” she said.

“… That’s what the law says,” Sheinbaum explained.

She said that the Ministry of Anti-Corruption and Good Governance has to determine if “any rule was violated” by the stay of Ebrard’s adult son at the ambassador’s residence.

Marcelo Patrick Ebrard lived at the ambassador’s residence in London between June 2021 and January 2022. His father was foreign affairs minister at the time and therefore had authority over Mexico’s diplomatic missions abroad. Mexico’s ambassador to the U.K. at the time was Josefa González-Blanco Ortiz-Mena, who briefly served as environment minister in the government of López Obrador.