Who is Octavio Romero Oropeza, future director of Infonavit?

MEXICO CITY (apro).- A faithful collaborator of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for more than 20 years, agricultural engineer Octavio Romero Oropeza will move from directing Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), which has one of the largest debts in its history, to heading the National Workers’ Housing Fund Institute (Infonavit) in the administration of Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.

The president-elect announced this on Wednesday, although she had previously announced on August 26 that the Tabasco native would not be returning to the state-owned company, but would be part of her government starting October 1.

Romero Oropeza’s appointment comes amid criticism of his management results at Pemex, one of the most indebted oil companies in the world and with crude oil production at its worst level in recent decades.

Last April alone, Pemex reported that it registered a 17.3% increase in its debt with suppliers and contractors, reaching 163,207 million pesos by March 2024.

The appointment is also notable because Sheinbaum Pardo will give one of López Obrador’s most trusted men the task of fulfilling one of his main campaign promises: to build at least one million low-income housing units during the six-year term, particularly so that young people can rent and accumulate the income if they want to buy.

To fulfill this promise, the housing sector is expected to be one of the largest receiving sectors in the next administration.

The history

Romero Oropeza is an agricultural engineer from the Higher College of Tropical Agriculture in Cárdenas, Tabasco. He was a professor of Mathematics at the College of Sciences and Humanities of Tabasco and of Algebra and Statistics at the Autonomous Juárez University of Tabasco.

In the legislative field he was a federal deputy from 1994 to 1997 in the LVI Legislature, and in the political field he chaired the State Executive Committee of the PRD in Tabasco from 1998 to 2000.

At the beginning of López Obrador’s term as Head of Government of the Federal District, he held the position of Chief Officer, from 2000 to 2005. In 2015, he was the founder of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party.

On December 1, 2018, she assumed the general management of Pemex by appointment of López Obrador. According to the curriculum vitae sent by Sheinbaum Pardo’s press team, she has worked at the state-owned company “in fulfillment” of the presidential mandate of “achieving the country’s self-sufficiency in oil matters, eradicating corruption in Petróleos Mexicanos and rescuing the sovereignty of the largest Mexican company.”

“Guarantee workers’ rights”

Following the announcement of her appointment, Octavio Romero thanked “Dr. @Claudiashein” for the distinction of her appointment. He added:

“I am convinced that workers are the pillar of society and their rights must be fully guaranteed by the State. It is an honor to be part of the Second Floor of the Fourth Transformation.”