Deceptive Brands/No Mayan Train Opposition

Misleading advertising. The Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer (PROFECO) said that British Petroleum (BP), Vips, VivaAerobus and Sony brands deceive consumers with their advertising for products and services. In the case of BP, it is said the company advertises that consumers can get 42 more kilometers per tank when using its gas, which PROFECO called misleading. Head of PROFECO Ricardo Sheffield Padilla also said that VivaAerobus has lied about the price of its flights and that Sony “launched an ad promoting a piece of new sound equipment at a very low price but the fine print stated that the price was only available to the first 10 buyers. However, the first 10 had already been sold for weeks yet the ad continued, misleading consumers with this advertising.”

Mayan train. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that he flew with businessman Carlos Slim to supervise the Mayan Train construction progress. He stressed that every two months, he will be visiting the work to review the progress of the project, adding that he would invite each of the owners or representatives of the contracted companies to ensure that the work is completed in a timely manner and delivered at the end 2023. López Obrador also said that “there is no opposition” to the Mayan Train construction work, which is considered a priority development for the current federal government, and that the population of the region is comfortable with the project. “They are all helping us. We have not had any problems and there is no opposition. People are comfortable and there are benefits because many jobs are being created throughout the region.”

PEMEX restructuring. López Obrador said that PEMEX “is not adrift” and affirmed that a process to restructure the oil company’s debt had already begun. “It is not a company like any other. PEMEX is a national company for Mexicans, like the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE),” he said.

Article 33. López Obrador promised he would never apply Article 33 of the Constitution to foreigners during his term. “We have not expelled any foreigner for intervening in matters that have to do with Mexicans and I celebrate them because (Article) 33 had been applied before. We have not applied 33, we are not going to apply it, that is our commitment. If someone is vetoed and he cannot come to Mexico, we are going to lift those vetoes." Article 33 refers to the fact that foreigners may not in any way interfere in the political affairs of the country. In addition, it gives the president of the republic the exclusive power to expel foreign persons from the national territory based on the law.

Meeting with Biden. Government officials from Mexico and the US will meet next Thursday to discuss alliances and high-level economic strategies, but before this, López Obrador indicated that he would deliver a letter to President Joe Biden to request his support in the face of the immigration situation facing the country. “There will be a high-level meeting in Washington on Thursday, attended by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Minister of the Economy Tatiana Clouthier, who have done very well, and a deputy minister of the Treasury. The letter is to be delivered to President Biden before the (Thursday) meeting.”

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish