New Airport Report/Dialogue With US

Santa Lucia. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that the construction of the Felpe Ángeles International Airport has so far led to savings of MX$125 billion (US$6.3 billion). “With that, it is almost being financed, or it is very close to what the Mayan Train is going to cost, which gives an idea of ​​how important it is to banish corruption. The problem is not the lack of budget. The problem is corruption,” López Obrador said. March 20, 2022, is the targeted opening date, López Obrador added. He outlined that more than 30,000 people have been working day and night on the construction of the airport and in less than two years they have erected the control tower, finished the two runways and refined the interior of the terminal. The head of the group of engineers in Santa Lucía, Gen. Gustavo Ricardo Vallejo, commented that, “its end date is March 21. We have 886 days to complete the execution of this project, 694 days of execution have passed and we have 192 days remaining. That represents a physical advance of 68.98 percent and it is important to mention that the financial advance is well below 64.66 percent.”

Economic dialogue. López Obrador said that the High-Level Economic Dialogue between Mexico and the US turned out “very well.” On Thursday, the US and Mexico resumed the High-Level Economic Dialogue, a mechanism that had been on hold since 2016. Both countries seek to strengthen their economic and commercial relations and boost investment and employment in Central America. US Vice President Kamala Harris said that the “economic stability of Mexico is in the interest of the US,” highlighting that 18 of the 50 states that make up her country have the neighboring nation as the first or second export destination, which means a transfer of goods across its borders of US$1 billion a day.

AMLO’s will. López Obrador announced that he established in his will that his name cannot be used for streets, schools, hospitals, statues or other possible tributes to him. “I have written in my will that I do not want my name to be used to name any streets, statues, to name schools, a hospital, absolutely nothing. I believe that the best tribute offered to leaders, even heroes, heroines, is by following their example, not turning them to stone.”

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish