Mario Ramón Beteta

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ramón and the second or maternal family name is Beteta.

Mario Ramón Beteta
Secretary of Finance and Public Credit
In office 22 September 1975[1] – 30 November 1976[2]
President	Luis Echeverría
Preceded by	José López Portillo
Succeeded by	Julio Rodolfo Moctezuma
Governor of the State of México
In office September 1987 – September 1989[3]
Preceded by	Alfredo Baranda García
Succeeded by	Ignacio Pichardo Pagaza
Personal details
Born	(1925-07-07)7 July 1925 Mexico City, Mexico[2]
Died	5 October 2004(2004-10-05) (aged 79) Mexico City, Mexico[1]
Political party	Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)[2]
Alma mater	UNAM, University of Wisconsin[2]
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).^[2]

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.^[2] 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).^[2]

He worked as director-general of Credit (1964–70) and then as Undersecretary of the Treasury (1970–75) at the Secretariat of Finance,^[2] 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).^[2] He died in Mexico City on 5 October 2004, victim of a chronic lung disease.^[1]

His nephew, Óscar Mario Beteta, is a popular radio host in Mexico City.^[4]

References

1. Montaño, Teresa; Morales, Alberto (7 October 2004). "Murió Mario Ramón Beteta, ex gobernador mexiquense". El Universal (in Spanish). Mexico City. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
2. Camp, Roderic Ai (1995). Mexican Political Biographies, 1935–1993 (3rd ed.). University of Texas Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-292-71181-5. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
3. Jarquín, María Teresa; Herrejón Peredo, Carlos (1995). "En el interludio de Mario Ramón Beteta". Breve historia del Estado de México (in Spanish) (1 ed.). Mexico City: El Colegio de México/Fideicomiso Historia de las Américas/Fondo de Cultura Económica. ISBN 968-16-4563-4. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
4. Fernández, José Antonio (19 June 2006). "Entrevista con Óscar Mario Beteta". La Revista (in Spanish). Mexico City: Canal100.com.mx. Retrieved 4 October 2009. 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.