Local Government Corruption Rises / Hospitals Not Saturated

Warns on local government corruption. After INEGI reported a 7.5 percent rise in corruption cases during his administration’s first year, President López Obrador acknowledged that local governments are still continuing with corrupt practices. “There are local governments that still do not understand that things have changed, even though I am sending telegrams advising them that the situation has changed, that there will be zero corruption, zero impunity. If they are not careful, they will end up in jail,” he said. The president highlighted that the same INEGI report showed that people have more confidence in the acting government and that according to international measurements corruption is decreasing.

Hospitals are not overflowing. President López Obrador said hospitals are not overflowing due to the COVID-19 emergency. “Despite the suffering and loss of human life, we have been able to avoid the saturation of hospitals. We can rule that out,” he said. The president stated that although tragedies cannot be compared, Mexico is not going through the unfortunate situation prevailing in other countries.

Rules out nepotism. After reports that seven relatives of Minister of Labor (STPS) Luisa María Alcalde are working in the federal administration, President López Obrador said this was not nepotism. He explained that Alcalde’s sister’s appointment by Minister of Security (SPCC) Alfonso Durazo was the right call. “They are family members working in completely different areas and each according to their profession,” he said. The president highlighted that both Alcalde and Durazo are “exceptional, well-prepared and honest people.” Alcalde is the daughter of Bertha Luján, a close aid to the president during his career. 

NASA ‘on the moon.’ After reports of an increase in pollution from Mexican refineries according to data from NASA, President López Obrador said the US space agency was “on the moon” for not recording the contamination from refineries before. “Why didn't they say anything before? They were on the moon,” he said. The president said his government is working on a program to rehabilitate the national refinery system that had been neglected by past administrations. “How can it be possible not to pollute if they were almost turned into junk,” he said.

Report on loans. Over 740,000 people have received government loans during the COVID-19 pandemic, President López Obrador said. “As of today, MX$44.72 billion has been allocated and 740,000 people received loans in April and May,” he said. Minister of Economy Graciela Márquez reported that so far, 317,425 people have benefited from the MX$25,000 individual loans but that there are still more than 1 million requests outstanding.

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish