The Diplomat
Mexico’s Senate has ratified the appointment of Quirino Ordaz as the country’s new ambassador to Spain, meaning that the former governor of Sinaloa will soon take up his post in Madrid.
The ratification by the Senate Plenary took place on Tuesday, just hours before Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares was due to arrive in Mexico City to meet with his Mexican counterpart Marcelo Ebrard.
Quirino Ordaz has had to wait half a year for his appointment to become a reality since, in mid-September 2021, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador chose him to fill a post left vacant by the retirement of the previous ambassador, Carmen Oñate.
His election was highly controversial in Mexico, as he is a prominent militant of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), an opponent of López Obrador’s government, and subsequently, when the Spanish authorities delayed granting the requested visa more than usual, in a clear sign of dissatisfaction with the Mexican president’s continuous attacks on Spain.
Finally, at the end of January, the Spanish government unblocked the granting of the visa and the ratification process was opened in the Mexican Senate, which culminated coinciding with Minister Albares’ visit to Mexico.
