Esquivel, consistently the most dovish de la Junta, left the bank on December 31, after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador refused to renew his term.
So far, López Obrador has not announced a replacement, meaning the Board will have just four members for now.
“We will miss Gerardo Esquivel, since he always contributed to the discussion with good arguments”, wrote Heath on Twitter .
“However, we take note of their concerns, in particular, not to become excessively tight and allow the tight stance already achieved to operate.”
We will miss Gerardo Esquivel, since he always contributed to the discussion with good arguments. However, we take note of his concerns, in particular, not to become excessively tight and allow the tight stance already achieved to operate.
— Jonathan Heath (@JonathanHeath54)
January 3, 2023
While having five members is “optimal,” the bank is strong and can “do very well” with four members, Heath wrote, noting that the central bank has done this several times in the past.
Esquivel regularly dissented from the rest of the Board’s decisions during the current record tightening cycle, and consistently voted for smaller interest rate increases.