Who is Mikel Arriola, the new president of Liga MX?

In recent days it has transpired that Enrique Bonilla will leave the presidency of Liga MX, a position to which he arrived in 2015, after Decio de María was appointed as president of the Mexican Soccer Federation. His place would be taken by Mikel Arriola, who has worked mainly in the world of politics.

Who is Mike Arriola?

Mikel Arriola, 45 years old and originally from Mexico City, is a political scientist and lawyer by profession. He studied law at the Universidad Anáhuac and he has a couple of master’s degrees abroad: one in law from the University of Chicago and another in politics and public administration from London, England.

One of his last appearances was to recognize the triumph of Claudia Sheinbaum in the 2018 elections to the governorship of Mexico City. Two years later, Mikel Arriola, who competed in that process for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), could reappear but this time as president of Liga MX.

Experience in politics, not in soccer

He has held public office in Banrural, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, as well as in the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks of the Ministry of Health, where he was head of the agency.

In 2016, during the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto, he was appointed director of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), a position he held until December 2017, when he left it to compete for the governorship of Mexico City.