Hurricane Agatha/Governor Elections

Hurricane Agatha. The past week, a Category 2 hurricane struck Mexico’s Pacific coast. Many victims were swept away by floods or buried in mudslides. Alejandro Murat, Oaxaca’s State Governor, informed that four people remain missing and that a state of emergency has been declared in 31 municipalities. Agatha damaged around 17,000 homes, according to preliminary results of a census conducted by groups of the Ministry of Wellbeing. Murat mentioned that the agricultural sector was hit severely, as 80,000ha of coffee fields were damaged.  

Moreover, President López Obrador said he will be visiting Oaxaca to attend to the losses caused by Agatha in the state.

Elections. Yesterday, inhabitants in six out of 32 federal entities chose their governors for the next six years. President López Obrador celebrated that the elections were carried out without any notable violence. He added that federal support programs and projects in the six states where elections were held will remain no matter the result, and said Durango and Aguascalientes will continue to receive federal support. López Obrador said the opposition should examine its electoral strategy after only achieving victory in two states.

Voter participation did not manage to surpass 55 percent in any of the six entities. According to the preliminary count, MORENA, the president’s party, won in Tamaulipas, Hidalgo, Quintana Roo and Oaxaca. The President’s opposition won in Aguascalientes and Guerrero. As of now, 22 out of 32 states are under the control of MORENA governors.

Summit of the Americas. President López Obrador said he will not be attending the Summit of the Americas because not all countries on the continent were invited. Nonetheless, he said Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, will represent the Mexican government.  

Moreover, he mentioned he will visit President Joe Biden in July of this year to discuss various topics, including the issue of migration.

In other news, López Obrador questioned the US embargo on Cuba involving medicine and food and qualified it as a “type of genocide.” The president said it would be immoral to attend the Summit of the Americas within this context, because it goes against the principles of Mexico’s approach to foreign affairs.