Carlos Ponce Beltrán

Since September 8, 2015, Carlos Ponce Beltrán (LDE ’83) has been the Assistant Attorney General for Telecommunications with PROFECO, Mexico’s Federal Consumer Protection Agency. This responsibility, which was bestowed upon him by then Federal Consumer Attorney General, Lorena Martínez, with authorization from the Secretary of Economy, Dr. Ildefonso Guajardo, has represented an important opportunity to lay the foundations of specialty and integrality in the promotion and defense of the rights of consumers of telecommunications goods, products, and services.

About this, Carlos says “being the first Assistant Attorney General in the field is a big challenge since more than 26% of all complaints received by PROFECO in the whole country are about this sector.”

Before being appointed to this position, Carlos had already participated in the public sector as judge in the civil, family, and criminal areas in Baja California Sur. He has also been General Secretary in the City Council of La Paz, General Undersecretary of Municipal Government and Attorney General of Justice. He was head of the Colima, Tabasco, and Oaxaca local offices of the National Attorney General’s Office.

“In the legislative area, I held the positions of Chief Official of the State of Baja California Sur, Legal Coordinator and Vice Coordinator of Advisors of the Parliamentary Group of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in the Senate of the Republic for the 68 th and 69 th Legislatures. Likewise, I had the opportunity of being an advisor with the Commission for Digital Access of the House of Representatives during the 61 st Legislature and with the Unit for the Planning and Evaluation of Educational Policies of the Secretariat of Public Education,” Carlos told us.

Becoming a relevant figure in an environment as changing and challenging as the public sector requires a lot of effort. Therefore, upon graduating from UDEM in 1983, Carlos began a career in public service, where he stayed for 22 years, until 2006, when he opened his own consultancy company. He alternated his work with academia, as a professor with various universities in the State of Baja California Sur and in Mexico City, then called the Federal District, where he has been residing since 2001.

The government-teaching combination allowed him to understand the importance that governmental activities have for the development of the country.

“Venturing into the private sector as a consultant and leader of professional organizations and Internet bodies, both at the local and national level, was very useful to understand public administration from outside. I think that the symbiosis existing between both sides of the activity are important to broaden your vision and generate virtuous circles,” Carlos explained to us.

To our ExaUDEM, a disposition to serve with honesty and responsibility is vital to become a public servant. Besides, it is necessary to ensure that you have a profile which matches the function to be served as closely as possible, “The phrase ‘The first act of corruption of a public servant is to accept a position for which he knows he is not qualified,’ has resonated in my mind ever since I first heard it, many years ago.”

His future plans in the position he holds at PROFECO include modernizing protection channels for telecommunication users since it can be anticipated that, given the considerable need for and growing offer of these services, better schemes are required to guarantee the protection of their rights as consumers. “J.F. Kennedy said in 1962 ‘Consumer by definition includes everyone.’”

At the personal level, he is interested in accompanying his children’s careers and staying close to his beloved state, Baja California Sur, supportively participating in providing solutions to its problem.

Carlos concluded by giving some advice to the new generations “Avoid improvisation in governmental position because you would not only be jeopardizing your reputation, but also the viability of the institutions and the country in general. There is no reason why the public treasury should pay for the cost of long ‘learning curves.’”