Olivia Salomón Vibaldo appointed to overhaul Mexico’s Lotería Nacional 

The new director general is expected to make major changes at Lotenal.

Mexico.- Olivia Salomón Vibaldo has been named as the new director general of Mexico’s Lotería Nacional (Lotenal), replacing Marco Antonio Mena Rodríguez. She will be expected to make major changes and modernise the state-owned lottery and quiniela operator, which has been criticised for a lack of transparency in its management.

Vibaldo was known as a businesswoman before she entered politics. She founded the real estate investment firm SyA Promotores, which focused on commercial properties and public venues in the state of Puebla. She also led La Vista Country Club for 16 years. 

She became economy secretary for Puebla in 2019 and was noted for increasing foreign investment. Last year, she served as business liaison secretary during Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo‘s successful campaign to become Mexico’s first female president.

Vibaldo has a master’s in administration and public policy and has been a vocal supporter of the federal social justice campaigns Mujer es Poder and Abarrotes Don Justino, which promote educational equality for women and young people from underprivileged backgrounds.

She has also given her support to the ‘Fourth Transformation’ economic programme initiated by Sheinbaum Pardo’s predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also of the Morena Party. Supported by Labour and Los Ecologistas, the programme has focused on improving IT, banking and telecom systems to better support poor communities.

Mexico’s national lottery has a long history, having been founded in 1770. Lotenal, previously the National Lottery for Public Assistance, emerged from reforms in the 1940s and provides vital welfare support for poor communities.

Vibaldo’s appointment is seen as a crucial step to strengthen transparency and efficiency at the emblematic state institution amid concerns over mismanagement. She will also be expected to modernise the lottery’s offerings. 

In lottery news elsewhere, Zoltán Guller has been named as CEO of Hungary’s state sports betting and lottery operator Szerencsejáték Zrt. And in France, the rebranded FDJ United has reported double-digit growth for 2024 amid its international expansion.

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