MX$1 Trillion in Remittances / No ‘business mortality’

Remittances are saving Mexico. Remittances sent to Mexico might total MX$1 trillion (US$47 billion) this year, an amount that exceeds federal funds allocated to support the poor, President López Obrador said. “We are talking about US$40 billion; this is what we estimate for this year. What is our peso’s exchange right now? It is appreciating. Anyway, it is like MX$1 trillion,” he said. The president highlighted that this figure is way above the MX$600 billion (US$28 billion) allocated by his administration for welfare programs, and praised the efforts of migrants. “Remittances are a blessing because they are reaching 10 million families who receive an average of US$300 to US$350 per month. That is what is saving us from the crisis,” he said.

Rules out death of businesses in Mexico. In the face of the COVID-19 crisis there has not been any “business mortality” in Mexico, President López Obrador said. “There was no business mortality as predicted, or there was, but not as big as expected,” he said. The president noted the support of businessmen during the recovery effort and their role in the Mexican economy. “Businessmen are helping with national development because they are maintaining their productive activities on a daily basis. The private sector represents 70 percent of the national economy in investment and jobs,” he said.

Evaporated water could have filled quota. The water that has evaporated in La Boquilla dam, in Chihuahua, would have been enough to complete the agreed supply of water to the United States, said President López Obrador said. “If they had complied with the commitment, they would have finished paying only with what has evaporated,” he noted. According to the National Water Commission (Conagua), Mexico still owes 289m cubic meters of water to meet the five-year quota designated in a bilateral agreement. López Obrador insisted that the dispute at La Boquilla dam is a staged conflict with electoral implications.

Guarantees gender balance in cabinet. President López Obrador said that the gender balance will be maintained in his cabinet so his administration will have the greatest participation of women in Mexican history. “There was an imbalance when the environment minister was replaced by a man. We are correcting this so we have the same number of women as when we started,” he said. The president was referring to officials who are expected to resign their positions to run as candidates in the 2021 elections, a list that is expected before the end of October. “It is the cabinet with the most participation of women in the entire history of Mexico and that is how it will continue until the end,” López Obrador said.

Says New York Times has poor ethics. President López Obrador condemned The New York Times, saying the newspaper has no ethics or professionalism. The news organization in April 2020 forecasted a 20 percent drop in remittances to Mexico. “I am very interested in the data because this newspaper is very famous but they lack professionalism and ethics. We are talking about the New York Times,” he answered to a reporter’s question on the subject. López Obrador mocked “newspapers like the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times or The Washington Post,” saying he didn’t care if he is criticized by those outlets that he has repeatedly described as neoliberal media.

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish