Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Investment bankers in Mexico say they have been flooded with CVs since the victory of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Amlo) in the country’s presidential election in July.
One of Amlo’s campaign promises was to reduce the salary paid to Mexico’s president and prohibit any other public official from earning more than that level: just Ps108,000 ($5,650) net of tax per month, equivalent to a 60% reduction to the salary of outgoing president Enrique Pena Nieto.
The implications for senior public-sector workers are significant – with total gross savings to the country’s public-sector wage bill estimated to be around $4 billion by the incoming administration.
“All the investment banks are being flooded by resumes from people working in the government and the central bank – people can’t live on these salaries,” says one investment banker in Mexico City.
It is not just the reduction in salaries that has seen a rush to join the investment banks.
“They are also going to get rid of drivers, work cell phones, first-class travel and medical benefits, he says, adding incredulously: “Senior public-sector workers are going to need to start using the public health system.”
