By RICARDO CASTILLO Storm Brews over Clean Energy Ban After the vociferous reaction from a number of top Mexican and international business organization leaders against the new ordinance published in the Official Gazette on Friday, May 15, by the Energy Secretariat called the Policy of Trustworthiness, Security, Continuity and Quality in the National Electricity System, as well as a myriad
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Energy Plaintiffs Sue, AMLO Replies There was a response from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) on Monday, May 18, to the international plaintiffs suing his administration for breach of contract regarding the cancelation of their operations of clean energy production. “They have the right to go to court,” he said, “as do we have the
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Just last week, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) extended the presence of soldiers on the streets of the nation to support the efforts of municipal and state police, along with the now-one-year-old National Guard (GN) in the fight against crime. The move was seen by AMLO’s critics in the conservative press as “unconstitutional” and “illegal.”
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Unemployment: Mexico’s New Nightmare Over 555,000 Mexican workers lost their jobs in April alone. Those who lost jobs in May are not yet counted in a report issued on Tuesday, May 12, by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). The bulk of the lost jobs, according to the IMSS, was in manufacturing, including high-employment maquiladoras, auto industries and
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Pressure to Restart Work Pressure on the Mexican government to get the economy going again is mounting from all sides. Health Secretary Jorge Alcocer, who is responsible for determining which municipalities and industries can reopen, however, does not yet have an answer. “In general there are approximately 990 municipalities applying to restart, but only about a third
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Don’t Whine Later! The programmed meeting of the Permanent Committee of the Mexican Congress to discuss the revamping of the administration’s Expenditures Bill has been postponed for at least two weeks due to the expanding coronavirus pandemic. Chamber of Deputies Majority Leader Mario Delgado Carrillo said that he had talked over the phone with Senate President Mónica
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Getting Back to Work The covid-19 lockdown is taking its toll everywhere in Mexico. The truth is, each and every able body in the country would rather be working than inventing in pastimes at home. But some who are already moving ahead of the pandemic are paving the road for when the moment comes to restart the
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Extended Isolation The full containment of the Covid-19 pandemic in Mexico will require much time than originally planned, so the stay-home period may have to be extended from the original April 30 to May 30, said Public Health Undersecretary Hugo López-Gatell, who is in charge of monitoring the spread of the disease. The announcement was made during
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By RICARDO CASTILLO U.S. OKs Anti-Covid-19 Exports to Mexico, Canada The U.S. export prohibition of anti-Covid-19 personal protection equipment to Mexico and Canada has been lifted, according to a memo issued by the U.S. Customs Border Protection Agency. The ban included ventilators, mouth covers and balloons, which can now be acquired by Mexico. On Tuesday, April 14, Mexican President Andrés
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Covid-19 Protection Arriving Mexico received the first plane load of medical materials from China on Wednesday, April 8, to supply its hospital personnel nationwide of much-needed protection while caring for patients infected with Covid-19. Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said that Mexico paid $56.481 million to acquire 180,000 pairs of globes, 16,174,000 surgery masks and 11.5 million
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