Pedro Aspe
Pedro Aspe | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Occupation(s) | Economist, politician, CEO |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Known for | Secretary of Finance of Mexico (1988–1994) |
Pedro Carlos Aspe Armella (born in Mexico City, Mexico) is a prominent Mexican economist who held the position of Secretary of Finance from 1988 to 1994 during the administration of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. His period in office was marked by the renegotiation of Mexico's external debt, the establishment of central bank independence, and the promotion of an extensive privatization initiative.
Aspe comes from a family with deep-rooted political and diplomatic backgrounds. He is the son of Pedro Aspe Sais, a former director of , and Virginia Armella Maza. His lineage includes a great-grandfather who served as a federal deputy and a grandfather responsible for coordinating diplomatic affairs under President Álvaro Obregón’s government.
He completed his undergraduate studies in economics at the ITAM and earned his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since 1980, he has been affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). In 1986, he was honored with the Order of the Phoenix by Greece.
Prior to his ministerial role, Aspe led ITAM’s economics department as chair, founded and presided over the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI) between 1982 and 1985, served as Undersecretary of Planning from 1985 to 1987, and directed the Budget and Planning Secretariat during President Miguel de la Madrid’s term.
Among his published works are The Analysis of Household Composition and Economics of Scale in Consumption (1976) and Financial Policies and the World Capital Market: The Problem of Latin American Countries (1983).
He is married to Concepción Bernal Verea, a historian and daughter of anthropologist Ignacio Bernal, and they have four children. Currently, Aspe is CEO of Protego, S.A., a consulting firm headquartered in Mexico City with additional offices in Monterrey. He also holds board memberships at American International Group (AIG), McGraw-Hill, and Standard & Poor's.
In 2017, Aspe’s name appeared in the Paradise Papers investigation conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.