Olivia Salomón Vibaldo has been named the new Director General of Mexico’s Lotería Nacional (Lotenal).
The country’s government confirmed the appointment of Vibaldo, who has been described as a ‘figurehead’ in Mexican business after having been the founder of real estate investment firm SyA Promotores.
Vibaldo hopes to bring a new life to the Mexican lottery – a public entity that has reportedly struggled with mismanagement over the years. Her appointment also highly suggests a reorganisation of Lotería Nacional.
The appointment also has support from Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo – the Mexican President who Vibaldo served as Business Liaison Secretary during Sheinbaum’s election victory in 2024, becoming Mexico’s first-ever female to take on the position.
Vibaldo entered Mexican politics in 2019 after being elected as Secretary of Economy for Puebla.
Her tenure saw her raising foreign investment in the state and implementing a new Energy Actions programme – recognised for reviving Puebla’s GDP growth from 0.9% in 2019 to 3.2%.
Looking on a national scale, Vibaldo has spearheaded the “Mujer es Poder” and “Abarrotes Don Justino” campaigns, two federal initiatives that focus on promoting educational equality for Mexican women and young people from underserved backgrounds.
Reformed in the 1940s as the National Lottery for Public Assistance – Lotenal provides direct support for welfare and social services for Mexico’s poorest communities.Though no longer in office, Vibaldo has publicly supported the ‘Cuarta Transformación’ (Fourth Transformation) – an economic programme led by the governing MORENA Party, alongside the Labour Party and Los Ecologistas (Green Party).