Assessing Outsourcing Move / MX$30B Deal with UNOPS

Assessing outsourcing move. President López Obrador said the bill he will send to Congress to eliminate outsourcing aims to set a new scheme that prevents companies from dodging their responsibilities toward workers. When asked if it would be better to regulate outsourcing than to eliminate it, the president noted that this is being assessed. “This is what we need to see. Because we do not want a reform that can be circumvented again,” he said. The president lamented that an attempt to regulate the hiring scheme had already failed. “There are those who do not help. This is a decision where the just are paying for the sins of others,” he said and stressed that while there are many responsible businessmen, others are corrupt. Yesterday, López Obrador announced that he will send a bill to Congress to eliminate outsourcing, which he said affects the public Treasury and Mexico’s development.

Deal with UNOPS worth MX$30 billion. The government will pay an advance of MX$30 billion (US$1.4 billion) to secure its medicine supply after reaching an agreement yesterday with UNOPS, President López Obrador said. “The office that is going to carry out the purchasing is UNOPS. This UN body is in charge of transparency that will guarantee zero corruption and that we make the most out of our budget,” he said. The president explained that purchasing will be carried out in the countries that offer the best prices and quality of medications.

Concerned about COVID-19 resurgence. President López Obrador said he is concerned about the resurgence in COVID-19 cases in Mexico and asked citizens to act accordingly to avoid contagion. “We must be aware, not to trust ourselves, and continue calling people to help us. If you ask me as a president, yes, I am worried, and, of course, I’m working on this,” he said. The president said he has never underestimated the problem. “We should not be alarmed. Of course, I am not downplaying the problem. This is a terrible pandemic that has caused a lot of pain, which continues to affect the world, but things are not going to get resolved through authoritarian measures,” he said.

Federation does not owe funds to states. President López Obrador denied that the federation owes funds to states and applauded Jalisco’s move to conduct a referendum on the fiscal pact between the states and the federal government. “If they have any evidence that they did not got their funds they need to show it. I can even say that they owe us if we do the math. In some cases, they have not paid all their taxes,” he said regarding rising tension with the 10 governors from the Federalist Alliance. López Obrador noted that his administration abides by the law and the Constitution and said that Jalisco can conduct its own referendum on the fiscal pact between the state and the federation, but only if it does not deceive its citizens.

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish