Mario Ramón Beteta Explained

Mario Ramón Beteta
Office1:Secretary of Finance and Public Credit
Term Start1:22 September 1975
Term End1:30 November 1976[1]
President1:Luis Echeverría
Predecessor1:José López Portillo
Successor1:Julio Rodolfo Moctezuma
Office2:Governor of the State of México
Term Start2:September 1987
Term End2:September 1989[2]
Predecessor2:Alfredo Baranda García
Successor2:Ignacio Pichardo Pagaza
Birth Date:7 July 1925
Birth Place:Mexico City, Mexico
Death Place:Mexico City, Mexico[3]
Party:Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)
Alma Mater:UNAM, University of Wisconsin
Profession:Economist, politician

Mario Ramón Beteta Monsalve (7 July 1925 – 5 October 2004) was a Mexican economist who served as the last Secretary of Finance in the cabinet of President Luis Echeverría (1975–76), as director-general of Pemex (1982–87) and as governor of the State of México (1987–89).

Early life

Beteta was born in Mexico City into a family led by General Ignacio Beteta, a well-known artist and former chief of staff of President Lázaro Cárdenas and brother of Ramón Beteta, who also served as Secretary of Finance during the presidency of Miguel Alemán Valdés. He graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (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, resigned to run for president as candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Beteta was appointed as substitute. During his tenure, he had to deal with the 1976 peso devaluation.[4]

After leaving the federal cabinet, Beteta served as president of the extinct Somex Group (1977–82), as director-general of Pemex (1982–87), as governor of the State of México (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 Mexico City.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Camp, Roderic Ai. Roderic Ai Camp

    . Roderic Ai Camp. Mexican Political Biographies, 1935–1993. University of Texas Press. 1995. 3rd. 77. 978-0-292-71181-5. 4 October 2009.

  2. Book: Jarquín, María Teresa. Herrejón Peredo, Carlos. Breve historia del Estado de México. El Colegio de México/Fideicomiso Historia de las Américas/Fondo de Cultura Económica. Mexico City. 1995. 1. En el interludio de Mario Ramón Beteta . 968-16-4563-4. 4 October 2009. Spanish.
  3. News: Murió Mario Ramón Beteta, ex gobernador mexiquense. Montaño. Teresa. Morales, Alberto. 7 October 2004. El Universal. Spanish. 4 October 2009. Mexico City. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110615062344/http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia.html?id_nota=116517&tabla=nacion. 15 June 2011.
  4. News: Entrevista con Óscar Mario Beteta. Fernández. José Antonio. 19 June 2006. La Revista. Canal100.com.mx. Spanish . 4 October 2009 . Mexico City . Spanish; Castilian: Ignacio Beteta, mi abuelo, fue Jefe del Estado Mayor con el Presidente Cárdenas. Después, su hermano, Ramón Beteta, mi tio abuelo, fue Secretario de Hacienda con Miguel Alemán y embajador en Italia. Mi tio Mario Ramón, fue Secretario de Hacienda con Luis Echeverría. Por cierto, en septiembre de 1976 le tocó tristemente dar la noticia de la devaluación del peso..