López Obrador Doing Well/No Purchase of Banamex

Booster dose. Minister of Education Delfina Gómez announced that booster vaccinations for education staff have started in most states. “Our teachers are already here. The vaccination process is being conducted with the purpose, the priority, of returning to school safely, and one way is to keep our staff safe. I invite all educational personnel to come and receive this reinforcement (against COVID).”

AMLO’s health status. Head of SEGOB Adán Augusto López Hernández said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was recovering well after contracting the COVID virus. “The president is stable, and his recovery continues. His health is optimal,” López Hernández said. “I hope the president makes a full recovery. On Monday or even before he could be back at the office in person but we are not going to accelerate the recovery process either. He continues to watch everything and lead the country,” López Hernández added.

Citigroup. López Hernández said that Citigroup’s decision to close its consumer banking operations in Mexico is not a bad sign for the country. “The country’s economy is doing well. It is in full recovery. It is simply the exercise of a right that a group of investors has, in this case, to rethink their activities in the country, their investment. They are the third-largest bank entity in Mexico, the second by number of branches, and they had profits of more than US$1.5 billion last year,” López Hernández said, adding that SEGOB has no interest in buying Banamex.

Citigroup, one of the largest banking groups in the US, announced that it would close its retail banking and small and medium-sized business operations in Mexico, although it will continue to operate in the country with a local license.

Cabinet changes. López Hernández said that changes to López Obrador’s Cabinet have the objective of strengthening teamwork within the federal administration and to ensure large national projects can come to fruition in the coming months. “Yesterday, there were some changes in the federal government. The movements obey the logic of strengthening teamwork.” On Tuesday, changes were announced at the Ministry of Welfare and at Fonatur, which is overseeing work on the Mayan Train.

INE. The federal government will deliver a counter-austerity plan to the National Electoral Institute (INE) to save resources and carry out the Revocation of the Mandate in April. “We are going to make a proposal to the INE that will be public so that citizens are aware of what one's resources are spent on because the INE operates with public resources. We have the right to know what public resources are spent on and, in any case, suggest austerity measures to INE,” said López Hernández.

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