Civil protection update / Blackout politicized?

Civil protection. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador welcomed back Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Minister of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), who had been working from home after being infected with COVID-19. The two addressed the efforts made throughout the year for Mexican citizens' well-being. The floods in Tabasco were also highlighted, with recurring mention of the donations that have been given to the families who need them, but that there is still a need for more aid packages. "We are advancing towards a fraternal, loving republic because of our actions," López Obrador said. Laura Velázquez, of the National Coordination of Civil Protection, mentioned that there were 30,000 earthquakes in Mexico in 2020. She also said that the reconstruction work from the 2017 earthquake was 70 percent completed. "The entities that continue to be supported and will continue to be for the next two years are Oaxaca, State of Mexico and Mexico City. There is a total investment of MX$102 million."

COVID-19 vaccines. AMLO addressed two vaccines in the fight against COVID-19. The first is the CanSino Bio that is already being distributed in China. "This has nothing to do with governments' political positions. What matters to us is saving lives," he said. The second vaccine is from AstraZeneca that Mexico had a hand in with the Carlos Slim Foundation. This vaccine is expected to be available in March 2021 and has already been approved by the UK. "(It is) something that gives us much security, much peace of mind, to have enough vaccines. That means we will not suffer from a lack of vaccines," López Obrador said. There have also been complaints after the Director of the Military Hospital Rayon in the State of Mexico allegedly provided the vaccine to his family. The president said that the matter is being investigated and the official will be punished if the allegations are true.

The blackout. President López Obrador again addressed the major blackout on Dec. 28 that affected 12 states. Since the incident, there have been multiple complaints against the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). The president said that these complaints are coming from conservatives and that whenever "there is a problem like this blackout, they make a scandal and assume that it is already a CFE debacle, which they would like. Conservatives are eager for the sector to be handed over to individuals."

Price increases. The president said that official data regarding price increases for certain products would be released tomorrow. He made it clear that tortillas and fuel would not be on the list. "There was an agreement with Maseca and Minsa so that there are no abuses, the same in the case of gasoline and fuels. It is only 3 percent inflation, and not at all in the case of tortillas, for which there is no increase."

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish