This time, the resignation came from the tourism minister Leticia Navarro: she wanted to go back to the private sector.
Her departure meant that Rodolfo Elizondo was promoted to hold the tourism portfolio in her place. Elizondo is a close confidant of President Fox and had been his director of communication.
The commentariat was intrigued by the promotion of Alfonso Durazo, previously Fox's private secretary, to take over from Elizondo. Durazo will have wider responsibilities than his predecessor. As well as being the president's spokesperson, he will have responsibility for presidential communication policies and coordinate the government's different information departments.
Analysts suggest the changes indicate that Fox has finally recognised that his government's communication policy has been poor.
Durazo lost little time in shaking up the presidential communications department. He appointed Rodolfo Guzmán as press chief for the print media; Ernesto Vidal will be responsible for handling TV and radio; while Agustín Gutíerrez Canet will handle international media relations. Guzmán and Vidal are splitting the job that used to be handled by Norberto Tapia, Elizondo's number two, who left with his boss.
The most interesting appointment is Gutíerrez Canet. He is a career diplomat and was sacked as ambassador to Ireland by President Zedillo. Gutíerrez Canet's offence was that he was widely supposed to have had dealings with Zedillo's predecessor, Carlos Salinas, then in self-imposed exile in Ireland. Gutíerrez Canet advised Fox on international affairs during his presidential campaign and is a strong proponent of the policy advocated by the former foreign minister, Jorge Castañeda, that Mexico should take a high profile line on human rights.
Vidal is the former director of corporate relations for TV Azteca, the country's second-biggest broadcaster. Guzmán was previously public relations chief for the development ministry (Sedesol).
Tourism
The tourism ministry was also in need of a shake-up. Tourist numbers have declined in recent years, and over the last decade Mexico has fallen from ninth position in the world tourism revenue league to 12th.
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