By RICARDO CASTILLO

AMLO’s Virtual Powwow with G-20 Leaders

In what was his first international encounter — even if only virtual — with the Group of 20 (G-20) world leaders on Thursday, March 26, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) vowed the nation’s solidarity with all affected nations and explained his point of view as to how to proceed in in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, outlining what he believes will be the best moves for needed economic recovery.

“We’ve said it before and I repeat: To confront this health crisis, it will not be enough to confront It in hospitals,” AMLO said.

”It will take the participation of the people, and I emphasized the importance of family cooperation. I said that, in Mexico, as in other nations, family is the most important social security safety net.

AMLO told the world leaders that special emphasis has been paid in México to the protection of senior citizens and persons with chronic diabetes and hypertension, as well as pregnant women, who are “the most vulnerable groups to the coronavirus.”

He also said that he called on the United Nations to take control of the pharmaceuticals used in treating the coronavirus in order to prevent shortages and hoarding by those who wield the economic means to do so.

“There has to be humanitarian, not speculative, treatment for victims,” AMLO said.

On the foreseen upcoming economic crisis, the Mexican president pleaded with the world leaders “not to use the price of oil to affect the economies of nations and to put a hold on financial speculation in order to stabilize world economics.”

“Cheer up,” AMLO told reporters in a press conference after the virtual meet. “We are going to win with universal fraternity. That was my message.”

400 Billion Pesos to Stop the Coronavirus

On Wednesday, March 25, AMLO announced that Mexico has a special fund of 400 billion pesos to confront the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, if it hits Mexico the way it has affected nations such as Italy and Spain.

“That fund allows us to sustain all of our wellbeing programs and cushion the drop in international oil prices,” he said.

“At the same time, we have made the decision to lower the prices of gasoline at the pump.”

AMLO said his administration has refrained from reacting in a harried manner, setting aside “conjectures and politicking.”

He also said that he had appealed to the solidarity of the industrial sector, to which he asked that seniors over age 60 be allowed to stay home during the crisis.

Stay Away From Jalisco

On Thursday, March 26, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro announced the death of a second coronavirus victim in the city of Guadalajara.

The previous day Alfaro invited all Jalisqueños living outside the state – particularly those living in the United States — to stay away from the state because “visiting Jalisco at this moment only puts at risk those you love the most.”

“You know we love you and we miss you,” he said.

“But at this time, don’t let a religious or civilian festivity put at risk your families.”

Slim Shells out One Billion

The Carlos Slim Foundation announced it was donating one billion pesos to benefit public hospitals so that they could buy medical equipment, such as ventilators and laryngoscopy video scanners, to be able to attend to Covid-19 victims.

The foundation also announced that its financing company, Grupo Carso, would not layoff any employees during the duration of the Covid-19 crisis and that it will sustain its current roster of 70,000 employees.

Looting Gangs, New Threat

Right in the middle of the Covid-19 health crisis, throngs of organized gangs throughout Mexico have devoted themselves to targeting and looting department stores, supermarkets and convenience shops.

There have been reports of looting in Mexico City, the State of Mexico (Edoméx), Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Hidalgo and Guanajuato.

Authorities have detected that the gangs, made up mostly of family relatives, organize themselves through whatsapp to target stores by assault and do a pick up and leave stint so as not to get caught by police.

A video – which went viral – of one of the assaults shows a group of young people riding a pick up smash through the windows of a Chedraui supermarket in the city of Tecámac, Edoméx, running over a woman employee.

The looters loaded whatever was on hand into the pickup and drove out in reverse to escape. They were not caught.

Thus far, however, at least 62 looters had been identified and arrested. This trend is something new in Mexico and has taken the nation’s police by surprise.

Sports: Soccer’s Old Boy Dead at 103

Mexican soccer icon Nacho Trelles passed away on Wednesday, March 25, at the ripe old age of 103.

Nacho (short for Ignacio) was the last of the soccer boys that slowly but surely pushed Team Mexico into participating in world-class soccer.

He made his career as a coach with teams Zacatepec and Cruz Azul, but reached his peak as Team Mexico manager for the 1962 and 1966 World Cups in Chile and England.

Among a myriad of anecdotes, Trelles is remembered for being a trickster who, when the team he was coaching was in distress and about to receive a goal, would take a ball and throw it into the turf.

On seeing this, referees would give Nacho a warning yellow card, but he would answer: “So where in the regulations does it say that there can’t be two balls on the field?”

Indeed, the Soccer Laws of the Game, say nothing about the subject, so the refs could not sanction Nacho for tossing in a second ball to prevent a goal from being scored against his team.

Have a good one, Nacho!