Regular Talks on Outsourcing / Vaccine May Arrive in December

Regular talks on outsourcing. After yesterday’s “very positive meeting,” President López Obrador said there will be further meetings with businessmen to discuss outsourcing on a regular basis. “It was agreed that as of today they will begin to review the entire initiative, the (government) officials explained the content and their reasons and they also listened to the businessmen’s opinions,” he said about yesterday meeting to discuss his proposal to eliminate or modify the hiring scheme in Mexico. López Obrador said that regular meetings with business representatives will start next Monday night. “It is an everyday meeting to assess, so that a settlement can be reached,” he said.

Vaccines to arrive in December. The first COVID vaccines are expected to arrive in Mexico in December, but only if Pfizer’s project is approved in the US, Minister of Foreign Affairs (SRE) Marcelo Ebrard said. “It is imminent that if it goes as we have said and the regulatory authority declares that it can be approved, Mexico will start its process in December,” he said. Ebrard explained that on Nov. 20, Pfizer submitted its approval request to the FDA, by Dec. 10 the final authorization is expected and four days later the vaccination program will start in the US. “In Mexico, today, COFEPRIS will receive information from Pfizer on the vaccination process,” Ebrard said.

Support for COVID-19 funeral expenses. The federal government will provide support to cover the funeral expenses of COVID-19 victims, IMSS head Zoé Robledo announced. “Universal support will reach all those who request it, whether or not they have social security and regardless of their economic situation,” he said and explained that funds will be funneled directly to beneficiaries. Support will total MX$11,460 (US$575) and is valid for all those who lost a family member between March 18 and until the health emergency ends. The social security head noted that a digital platform will be available for those asking for support where official documentation on the deceased will be required. The program was in place before, but only for people in vulnerable situations.

Europe’s results are worse than Mexico’s. President López Obrador again compared Mexico’s results on the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic to other European countries and said that his administration is working on reducing the number of deaths. “We are working to reduce the number of deaths, I already explained this. We managed to prevent hospitals from being saturated. Health workers continue to act with great responsibility and there is no risk that the pandemic will overtake us,” he said. López Obrador highlighted the case of Spain, where “proportionally to the population there are more deceased than in Mexico,” and regretted criticism by the El País newspaper. “It is the newspaper of the Spanish companies who looted in the neoliberal period. There is a campaign to discredit the government of Mexico,” he said.

500th daily briefing. President López Obrador reported that today he celebrated his 500th morning daily briefing (also known as La Mañanera) since his administration started, and detailed that the longest was on Nov. 11, lasting 3 hours and 13 minutes, while the shortest was on March 11, 2019, which lasted for only 9 minutes. While in office as Mexico City mayor (from 2000 to 2005), López Obrador also gave daily briefings but at 6 a.m., one hour before today’s 7 a.m. meeting scheduled at the National Palace, which is where the president lives and works.

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish