Mario Ramón Beteta Monsalve (7 July 1925 – 5 October 2004) was a Mexican

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

who served as the last

Secretary of Finance The Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credit (, SHCP) is the finance ministry of Mexico. The Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the department, and is a member of the federal executive cabinet, appointed to the post by the President ...

in the cabinet of President

Luis Echeverría Luis Echeverría Álvarez (; 17 January 1922 – 8 July 2022) was a Mexican lawyer, academic, and politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 57th president of Mexico from 1970 to 1976. Previously, ...

(1975–76), as director-general of

Pemex Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexico, Mexican State ownership, state-owned Petroleum industry, petroleum corporation managed and operated by the government of Mexico, ...

(1982–87) and as

governor of the State of México The governor of the State of Mexico (Spanish: Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de México) wields executive power in the State of Mexico (a.k.a. Edomex). The Governor of the State of Mexico is directly elected by the citizens, using secret ...

(1987–89).

Early life

Beteta was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

into a family led by General Ignacio Beteta, a well-known artist and former chief of staff of President

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

and brother of

Ramón Beteta Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramón (footballer, born 1950), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Br ...

, who also served as Secretary of Finance during the presidency of

Miguel Alemán Valdés Miguel Alemán Valdés (; 29 September 1900 – 14 May 1983) was a Mexican politician who served a full term as the President of Mexico from 1946 to 1952, the first civilian president after a string of revolutionary generals. His administ ...

. He graduated from the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM) with a bachelor's degree in Law (1948), completed a master's degree in economics at the University of Wisconsin (1950) and married Gloria Leal Kuri before working as a professor of Introductory Economics and Monetary Theory at the National School of Economics (UNAM, 1951–59). He worked as director-general of Credit (1964–70) and then as Undersecretary of the Treasury (1970–75) at the Secretariat of Finance, and when the secretary,

José López Portillo José Guillermo Abel López Portillo y Pacheco (; 16 June 1920 – 17 February 2004) was a Mexican writer, lawyer, and politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 58th president of Mexico from 1976 ...

, resigned to run for president as candidate of the

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...

(PRI), Beteta was appointed as substitute. During his tenure, he had to deal with the 1976

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several Hispanophone, Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, as well as the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries of the Americas, the symbol com ...

devaluation. After leaving the federal cabinet, Beteta served as president of the extinct Somex Group (1977–82), as director-general of

(1982–87), as

(1987–89) and as director-general of Comermex (1989–90). He died in Mexico City on 5 October 2004, victim of a chronic lung disease. His nephew, Óscar Mario Beteta, is a popular radio host in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beteta, Mario Ramon Secretaries of finance of Mexico National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Academic staff of the National Autonomous University of Mexico 20th-century Mexican economists 1925 births 2004 deaths