Mexico: Who will be a priority during the COVID-19 crisis?

On March 24, President López Obrador announced an economic plan to ease the effects of the crisis sparked by coronavirus but there is a problem: who will be a priority? Those whose jobs are at risk or those who have the possibility to create jobs or maintain those that already exist?

When the President announced that his administration has an MXN $400,000 million fund that will be used to counter the effects of the economic crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and other phenomenons such as the collapse of oil prices and the devaluation of the Mexican peso. López Obrador added that the resources will be allocated to welfare programs that will benefit those who live in poverty but he seems to forget that a large part of that money comes from the business sector, the same he refuses to help by arguing that his government will not favor tax cuts or financial bailouts for investors or business owners, as previous “neo-liberal ” governments in Mexico did.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador

says that thanks to the contingency fund, the construction of large projects is guaranteed, the projects include the Santa Lucía airport, the Dos Bocas oil refinery, and the Maya train as these projects will create jobs in the future. However, all these jobs won’t compensate the thousands or hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be lost during the pandemic because the government didn’t aid the private sector, a sector that did fulfill its obligations and measures imposed by the government when the coronavirus crisis worsened.

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Not many companies , despite how large and solid they are, will be able to support their workers after one, two, or three months without any income and while also having to fulfill their obligations such as paying taxes , payroll , rents , and basic services such as water and electricity .

In contrast, U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that even if you compare the economic consequences of halting the majority of activities as a measure to stop the spread of COVID-19 , the remedy will be more catastrophic than the illness itself.

Although it is essential to help small and medium businesses, the most fragile, all companies need help. Where to start? This will be a surgical operation that will require precision not to hurt or worsen the condition of the patient: the Mexican economy .

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