The President is not afraid of coronavirus

The President is not afraid of coronavirus

It finally seemed like President López Obrador was following the measures suggested by the Health Ministry weeks ago. On March 21, the President celebrated Benito Juarez’s birthday in a public event that was attended by locals only. On March 22, the President avoided shaking hands with his supporters and also acknowledged that coronavirus will spark an economic crisis but then he showed he doesn’t really believes in the severity of the pandemic . In a video shared on Facebook , López Obrador called on people “not to stop going out. We’re still in the phase 1. I’m going to tell you when not to go out but now you can and if you have the economic means, you can go out to eat in restaurants .”

Recommended: COVID-19: Mexico must prevent the collapse of its health system

Coronavirus forces the President to cancel massive event

As COVID-19 spreads and more people are infected with the virus , one of the reports scheduled by President López Obrador will be cancelled. Sources say the event scheduled for April 5 at the Zócalo , will be cancelled since it is expected that Mexico goes through a critical stage in the pandemic . We’ve been reminded that on February 19, the President announced he would present four government reports throughout the year. We’ve been told that this is not something that worried the Mexican President because he might still be able to carry out the other three reports.

Recommended: COVID-19 Live Updates: Mexico

Uncertainty at the Senate

The Senate is hurrying to urgently approve the reform to the constitution, in order to grant access to welfare programs , before thy are directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic . Although the efforts launched by Ricardo Monreal to reach an agreement with other parties are still taking place, they are now up in the air since the Senate hasn’t decided whether or not it will close. We’ve been told that now that the federal government already advised to implement social distancing, the Senate will hurry to approve the reform. However, other pending issues are quarantine because lawmakers are already isolating.

Recommended: Mexico's COVID-19 contingency plan: three key phases

Morena delays its internal election

One of the non-essential activities that will be halted is the internal election at ruling party Morena . Moreover, now that Alfonso Ramírez Cuéllar is leading the party and since he failed to call for a substitute, he might lose his position as a federal lawmaker. For now, Cuéllar will meet with Lorenzo Córdova , the head of the INE , in order to evaluate how the internal process will be carried out once the contingency is over.

Recommended: Catfight at Morena

gm