Tatiana Clouthier Carillo (b. August 12, 1964, Culiacan, Sinaloa) is a Mexican educator, politician and writer. From December 8, 2020 to October 6, 2022, she served as the head of the Secretariat of Economy of Mexico appointed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Clouthier came to national attention in Mexico as the 2018 presidential campaign manager for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Her work in social media for the campaign has been particularly recognized.
Bio
Life and education
Clouthier is one of eleven children born to Leticia Carrillo and politician Manuel Clouthier, the 1988 National Action Party presidential candidate who died in an automobile crash in 1989, when she was in her mid-20s. She is one of three children to go into politics. She stated that while she does not deny her roots, she is more than just the daughter of Manuel Clouthier, “I am not just a last name… I make my own way.”
Although she comes from a well-to-do agricultural family, she went to public schools, such as the General Ángel Flores public school in Culiacán. She studied a Bachelors degree in English Language at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education as well as her masters in public administration at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León. She has also taken various extracurricular courses in education, teaching, human right and civics, at schools such as the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University. She believes her experiences in public education allows her to build bridges among the social classes.
Although Clouthier grew up in Sinaloa, she has spent most of her life in Nuevo León, currently a resident of San Pedro Garza García. She is currently married to José Martínez and the couple has two children, María and Lucas.
Political career
Clouthier began her career as a teacher and translator. She cofounded and ran a translation business from 1986 to 1990. From 1982 to 1994 she taught English, Mexican history and socioeconomics in schools such as Monterrey Tech and the Centro Universitario México. She was principal at the preparatory school of the Universidad Metropolitana de Monterrey, a school for economically-disadvantaged children.
Clouthier founded and held positions in several social service organizations. From 2000 to 2003, she was an advisor to the Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres. In 2009, she was one of the founders of Evolución Mexicana A.C., which promotes civic responsibility and democracy.
Between 1989 and 1997 she held various administrative positions with the San Pedro Garza García municipality such as direction of human affairs, assistant to the secretary of primary services and the director of tourism, education and sports. From 1997 to 2001, she was the coordinator of junior high education and social services with the Secretariat of Education of the state of Nuevo León.
Initially, Clouthier followed her father into the National Action Party (PAN) and was a member from 1991 to 2005. With this party, she served as a federal deputy from 1991 to 1994, then again from 2003 to 2005. However, she became disillusioned with this party, and left even though she was criticized for betraying her father. Today, she says that it is a “bad copy of the Institutional Revolutionary Party,” the party that her father was so against. In 2009, she was a candidate for municipal president for San Pedro with Nueva Alianza.
Manager of the campaign of Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Clouthier has come to national attention as the campaign manager for the 2018 presidential campaign of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. She articulated and promoted the potential benefits of electing Andrés Manuel López Obrador to the Presidency of Mexico.
Despite her history, her choice to support López Obrador came as a surprise to her family. However, she states that many of the candidate's political positions are similar to those of her father, who was also called a populist. Despite her close association with López Obrador, she is not a member of his party. She states she has disagreements with López Obrador but will not say what they are publicly.