Carvajal Alpírez assumes the vice-ministry of Regulatory Improvement following Rucavado's resignation

The President of the Republic, Laura Fernández Delgado, accepted the resignation of Christian Rucavado Leandro and appointed Ricardo Carvajal Alpírez as Vice Minister of Business Development and Regulatory Improvement of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC), effective as of October 10, 2026. The decision is contained in Agreement No. 091-P, signed on October 6 at the Presidency of the Republic and published this Friday in La Gaceta No. 201, with the official reference IN202601134365.

The agreement is issued based on Article 47, subsection 1), of the General Law of Public Administration, Law No. 6227 of May 2, 1978, and its amendments, a regulation that grants the Executive Branch the power to appoint and remove the heads of ministries and their vice-ministries. The text is structured into three recitals and three operative articles, and bears only the signature of the President of the Republic.

The immediate precedent for the replacement is Agreement No. 003-P of May 8, 2026, published in Supplement No. 54 to La Gaceta No. 85 of May 12, 2026, through which Rucavado Leandro had been appointed to the same position. That appointment is expressly terminated by the new agreement, meaning that the management of the Vice Ministry of Business Development and Regulatory Improvement changes leadership just over five months after the start of the 2026-2030 constitutional term.

The three articles of the agreement

• Article 1: accepts the resignation of Christian Rucavado Leandro, identity card No. 1-1258-0089, from the position of Vice Minister of Business Development and Regulatory Improvement of the MEIC, effective as of October 10, 2026, with the last working day being October 9, 2026, and terminates the appointment made via Agreement No. 003-P.
• Article 2: appoints Ricardo Carvajal Alpírez, identity card No. 1-1144-0018, to the position of Vice Minister of Business Development and Regulatory Improvement of the MEIC, starting October 10, 2026.
• Article 3: establishes that the agreement governs as of October 10, 2026.

Retroactive validity and late publication

Agreement No. 091-P was signed on October 6, 2026, but its entry into force was set four days later, on October 10, and its official disclosure did not occur until October 23, thirteen days after the replacement took effect. In the interval, the vice-ministry office was already under the charge of the new appointee without the decision having appeared in the official gazette.

The publication was made in the ordinary edition of La Gaceta No. 201, corresponding to Friday, October 23, 2026, year CXLVIII, a 92-page issue, within the section of Executive Branch agreements. The agreement is published only once, according to the record of the National Printing Office.

The scope of the vice-ministry in the regulatory agenda

The Vice-Ministry of Business Development and Regulatory Improvement is the MEIC unit that leads the policy for the simplification of procedures and regulatory quality. The Directorate of Regulatory Improvement depends on this portfolio, and is responsible for issuing technical reports on compliance with the regulatory improvement principles provided for in Article 12 bis of Executive Decree No. 37045-MP-MEIC of February 22, 2012, “Regulation to the Law for the Protection of the Citizen from Excessive Administrative Requirements and Procedures.”

These technical criteria condition the approval of executive decrees and regulations from other institutions, which must undergo cost-benefit analysis and, when applicable, public consultation in the MEIC’s Prior Control System (SICOPRE). The change in leadership occurs, therefore, in an area whose rulings have a transversal impact on the administrative processing of the entire public sector.

The transition also takes place during a period of sustained regulatory activity: between August and October 2026, several executive decrees were published in La Gaceta invoking reports from the Directorate of Regulatory Improvement to certify compliance with these principles, making the vice-ministry a key piece for the pace of approval of new regulations.

Impact for readers

For companies, chambers, and citizens, the appointment of Carvajal Alpírez defines who will be responsible for the simplification agenda, the cost-benefit evaluation of regulations, and the MEIC’s position on competitiveness for the remainder of the term. The continuity or adjustment of regulatory improvement plans and the goals for institutional support will depend, to a large extent, on the leadership assumed by the new vice-minister starting October 10.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 201 of October 23, 2026, Executive Branch — Agreements, p. 3 (official reference: IN202601134365).