Ernesto Cordero Arroyo
Ernesto Javier Cordero Arroyo is a Mexican politician. He is an actuary, a public servant and a Mexican politician affiliated with the PAN.
He has been Secretary of State on two occasions: he was Secretary of Social Development, and Finance Secretary, when he resigned to take part in the internal elections for the Presidency of Mexico for the PAN. Cordero was the President of the Mexican Senate, a role traditionally rotated amongst the three biggest parties in Congress for one-year terms, from September 2012 to August 2013, and again from September 2017 to August 2018.
Cordero Arroyo was among those accused by Emilio Lozoya Austin, former head of PEMEX, in July 2020 of receiving a bribe to support energy reform in 2013-2014. Cordero denied the charge and wrote, Siempre he actuado con legalidad en las responsabilidades que he desempeñado como servidor público.
Private life
Family
Ernesto Cordero was born in Mexico City on May 9, 1968. Son of Ernesto Cordero Galindo, a well-known Professor of Medicine in the “Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México ”, and of Graciela Arroyo, a nurse who directed for two periods the “Escuela Nacional de Enfermeria y Obstetricia of the UNAM. On May 16, 2006, Marta Sahagún de Fox inaugurated the Esplanade of the Distinguished Nurses and unveiled a bust in her honor at the headquarters of the Ministry of Health. He has a sister: Graciela Cordero Arroyo who is a pedagogue in the UNAM and has a Doctorate in Education by Barcelona’s University.Cordero is married to Cristina Keller; he met her at the “Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México ” when he was majoring in actuary and she was majoring in applied mathematics. They got married in 1994 and went to live to Philadelphia to finish their postgraduate studies. Cristina Keller has a Master’s degree in Architecture by the University of Pennsylvania and has never been a public servant.
Education
He majored as an actuary in the “Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México ”. He also got a Master’s Degree in Economics by the University of Pennsylvania where he also did some Doctorate studies.Working Experience and Politics
When he finished his postgraduate studies in 2011, Ernesto Cordero was in charge of the General Management of the Miguel Estrada Iturbide Foundation of the PAN, this institution is in charge of giving technical counseling in legislative projects to the members of the Parliamentary Group of the PAN in the House of Representatives.- In 2003 he was Director of Integral Administration of Risks in the “Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos ”.
- In 2004 he was appointed as Undersecretary of Energetic and Technological Development Planning in the Energy Secretariat.
- In 2006 he was appointed Undersecretary of Expenditures in the Finance Secretariat.
- In 2008 he was appointed Secretary in the Social Development Secretariat.
- In 2009 he was appointed Secretary in the Finance Secretariat.
In 2004, along with a reduced group of public servants, he resigned to the charge of Undersecretary of Energy and Technological Development in the Energy Secretariat, to join the Secretary of the SENER at that time, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, in his pre-candidature for the Mexican Presidency. In this campaign, Cordero was the coordinator of Public Politics.
Social Development Secretary
On June 15, 2008, the Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa named him the Head of the Social Development Secretariat in substitution of Beatriz Zavala Peniche.As Secretary, he designed and implemented different politics in social development; strengthening, modernizing and making transparent programs with a high impact on the lifestyle conditions of the Mexicans.
He also faced the international financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. To counteract the increase of international prices in food, he incorporated new supports in the social programs and he made sure to keep the stability of the prices in the poorest regions of the country:
- During the crisis almost 150 families were incorporated to the Program of Food Support, and nearly 230 thousand new families to the Program Opportunities.
- In addition to the expansion of the programs, there was an increase of US$10 per family of Opportunities monthly, to face the rise in prices and another of US$9 per child up to 9 years old, monthly.
- Through the programs like Liconsa and Diconsa, the stability in food prices was maintained, the milk remained at US$0.33 per liter, the kilo of corn remained at US$0.29 and the one of corn flour Mi Masa remained at US$0.41. Besides, the trade of other products of the home brand Sedesol-Diconsa started at a very low price and of a very good quality such as soups, coffee, salt, chocolate and soaps.
From 2007 to 2009 1 million 300 thousand floors were placed to benefit almost 4.8 million people.
During 2009 the coverage of the Program 70 and more was extended, it gives support to the elder people of the third age in places with up to 30 thousand inhabitants, increasing the number of beneficiaries in almost 200 thousand.
Finance Secretary
On December 9, 2009, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa the President of Mexico appointed him Finance Secretary in substitution of Agustín Carstens. He was the first Finance Secretary from the PAN.Ernesto Cordero led the economic recovery, the consolidation of the public finance and the implementation of new politics with a social view.
- As Finance Secretary, Cordero has been the main character in the economic recovery, the economic and treasury politics he implemented allowed a growth in 2010 of 5.5%, a bigger figure that the estimated 4.4% when the year started. This growth allowed employment to increase; between December 2009 and March 2011 almost a million of new employments were created.
- The treasury simplification and modernization allowed the enlargement of the treasury base.
- * During 2010 the incomes due to taxes not related to the oil reached their historical maximum of 10% of the GDP.
- * The amount of tax payers reached a historical number of 38.9 million people with an increase of 4.8 million tax payers in just 1 year, the highest increase of tax payers since 2005.
- With Ernesto Cordero as the Head of the Finance Secretariat, the electronic invoice was implemented and in 2011 a new record of online tax returns made by companies was achieved, with an increase of almost 10% in comparison to the previous year. The increase in the use of Internet to do the annual tax returns is remarkable, 99% of the returns were done though the Internet, an increase of almost 4% compared to the previous year.
- Talking about expenditure, in 2010 there was an expenditure in social development as never before, almost 60% of the programmed expenditure was to support families in poverty and in the investment of basic infrastructure to benefit the low income population.
- * 98% of the houses in Mexico have electric energy and 91.5% have water.
- * Houses with dirt instead of floor decreased, going from 13.2% to 6.2% between 2000 and 2010.
- * Today more than 25.4 million houses have drainage, this is to say 8.6 million more than in 2000.
National and International Committees
He has been President of the Committee of the Assembly of Governors of the "Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo" ; Co-president of the Committee of Transition of the United Nations for the Design of the ; Co-president of the Group of Work of the G-20 for the Revision of the international monetary systems.In Mexico he has been President of the National Counsel of Social Politics; President of Financial System Stability Council; Coordinator of the Social Cabinet, as well as a Member of the Security Cabinet.