A New Envoy for Washington
Esteban Moctezuma Barragán concluded a gestión de más de cinco años como embajador de México en Estados Unidos a mitad de 2026, ending a term defined by nearshoring advocacy and economic integration. The Mexican government has confirmed the economist Roberto Lazzeri as his successor. Moctezuma, the former Secretary of Public Education, now shifts his focus to Brussels, where he will represent Mexico before Belgium and the European Union.
Defending the Remittance Flow
Since taking his post in March 2021, Moctezuma navigated a volatile bilateral relationship. His tenure focused heavily on stabilizing trade and securing financial pipelines. Crucially, he fought to protect remittances sent by Mexican workers to their families.
When Washington lawmakers proposed a tax on these transfers, Moctezuma held negotiations with U.S. authorities and achieved a reduction of the original proposal. President Claudia Sheinbaum credited his intervention, noting that his work directly prevented a heavier tax burden on migrant families. The effort was executed in close coordination with Financiera para el Bienestar (Finabien).
The Nearshoring Push
Moctezuma promoted Mexico as one of the main destinations for the relocation of companies, in a context in which companies sought to bring their supply chains closer to the U.S. market. He maintained a schedule of engagement with industrial chambers, government officials, and private investors to highlight Mexico’s competitive advantages within North America.
His strategy relied on high-level tours to bridge Mexican economic interests with U.S. technology sectors:
- April 28 – May 4, 2024: A multi-city tour of California, including Silicon Valley, where he met with representatives from Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, and Flex to discuss semiconductor development and manufacturing opportunities.
- May 8–10, 2023: A working visit to San Diego to discuss cross-border economic cooperation, specifically within the Tijuana-San Diego region, at the U.S.-Mexico Forum.
By 2025, Moctezuma was asserting that Mexico was positioning itself to become the main destination for U.S. exports, maintaining that the nation would emerge stronger from the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (T-MEC).
Ratifying the European Agreement
The Secretariat of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that Moctezuma’s immediate priority in his new European posting is the coordination of the ratification of the Global Modernized Agreement (AGM) with all Mexican representations in the member countries of the European Union. This follows the formal signing of the accord by President Sheinbaum and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on May 22 at Palacio Nacional. Moctezuma is now tasked with coordinating the ratification process to finalize the framework for deeper economic and political cooperation.