Ideas on Referendum / 250,000 Jobs Back / Report on Delta

Two ideas on referendum to put former presidents on trial. President López Obrador said the popular referendum on putting former presidents on trial will not cost MX$8 billion (US$370 million) as reported, and noted that in any case the National Electoral Institute (INE) could summon volunteers to trim its excessive budget estimate. He noted that putting former presidents on trial is a decision for the people and not a legal issue, since the important factor is citizens’ participation. López Obrador said that a modification to the Constitution’s 35th article is also feasible, so the referendum can be held with next year’s election. “It is logical that if people are already going to vote for representatives, senators and governors, they can decide on the referendum on election day,” he said.

250,000 jobs are back. Over 30,000 jobs have been recovered in October, President López Obrador said. “In August, we recovered 92,000 jobs, in September about 120,000 and I saw October figures yesterday, and in just the first days of the month we already have more than 30,000 jobs recovered,” he said. The president noted that no further jobs are being lost due to the COVID-19 economic crisis, which means that over 250,00 jobs have been recovered.

Positives from Hurricane Delta. Civil Protection head Laura Velázquez said that the Cancun Airport had reestablished all communications as of today, and that no casualties had been reported in Quintana Roo and Yucatan due to Hurricane Delta. “The damage to infrastructure is minimal. There are more than a thousand fallen trees in Quintana Roo and 197 light poles. In Yucatan, we have 200 fallen trees,” she noted. President López Obrador praised the collaboration among governors and mayors and also CFE workers for their dedication. “They are very efficient. I am told that by tomorrow the whole electricity service will be reestablished,” he said.

No favorites in contracts. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that his government had shown no favoritism when assigning contracts. “There are no favorites here, there are no favorite sons of the regime. It’s not like before; we have principles,” he said after the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) reported that 40 percent of all public funds for public purchasing during 2019 were allocated to contracts awarded directly, which represents a larger figure than in past administrations.

COVID-19 contingency longer than expected. Facing the COVID-19 pandemic has taken longer than expected, President López Obrador said. “We thought that by now we were going to have this unfortunate problem solved. It has taken longer and the most painful thing is more victims, more deaths. We are going to help their families,” he said. López Obrador insisted that the worst of the pandemic was over. “In all states. there is a decrease in contagions. The pandemic is yielding but we cannot say that we are free of it. We have to continue taking care of ourselves,” he said.

Reflecting on Carstens’ statement. President López Obrador said the potential for bankruptcies predicted by former Banxico Gov. Agustín Carstens likely was not in reference to Mexico, since no fiscal incentives or money has been provided to companies here. “I do not think he was referring to us because we do not give any money to companies, or tax incentives, or anything like that,” he said. Carstens, who is head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and was also Finance Minister (SCHP) in past administrations, warned about possible bankruptcies, without specifically referring to Mexico, during a Santander conference yesterday. López Obrador stated that most likely Carstens was referring to countries where they decided to rescue companies and increase public debt. 

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish