Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Photo: Twitter

By THE PULSE NEWS MEXICO STAFF

Just days after Mexico became the fourth country worldwide to register more than 1 million confirmed covid-19 cases and more than 100,000 deaths from the disease, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) told other world leaders on Saturday, Nov. 21, to avoid shutdowns and other extreme measures to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Speaking at an online summit of the Group of 20 (G-20), AMLO said that his government is committed to supporting the nation’s poorest during the ongoing pandemic and the economic crisis it has wrought, and that Mexico’s approach should be an example for the organization’s other 19 member nations.

AMLO said that it is ill-adviced to impose mandatory shutdowns and other harsh measures to control the spread of the virus, since these most heavily impact poorer populations, most of whom live hand-to-mouth.

He also said that since health is a fundamental human right, his administration is planning to provide free covid-19 vaccines to all Mexicans.

Prevention is the best way to treat covid, he said, adding that “we must, in all circumstances, guarantee basic freedoms and avoid the temptation to impose extreme sanitary measures such as extensive confinements or lockdowns.”

Mexico reported 6,426 new cases of covid-19 on Friday, Nov. 20, bringing its total confirmed cases to 1,025,969, with 100,823 deaths, according to the Mexican Public Heath Secretariat, whose covid czar, Hugo López-Gatell, readily admitted that the real number of cases is likely significantly higher than the official tally.

The G-20 is an international forum for the governments and central banks of 19 countries and the European Union.

It was founded in 1999 with the aim to discuss policy pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.

Collectively, the G-20 economies account for around 90 percent of the world’s total economic production and 80 percent of global trade, as well as two-thrids of the world’s population and half its land mass.

…Nov. 21, 2020