Petroleos Mexicanos is replacing its finance chief as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tightens his grip on the struggling state oil giant. 

In Pemex’s first C-suite shift under the current administration, the Mexican producer named risk management chief Antonio Lopez Velarde its chief financial officer, replacing Alberto Velazquez Garcia, who will run a new unit. Velarde is taking the post in an interim capacity Wednesday, the company said in a statement, without clarifying whether he’ll remain at the job or eventually be replaced. 

Under Velazquez’s leadership, Pemex has seen debts to suppliers and partners skyrocket, while oil production has declined for almost a decade and a half. Velazquez was also criticized for failing to instill confidence among investors. At his first New York roadshow as CFO in 2019, four investors said he didn’t deliver a clear message and one of them called for his resignation. 

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