Subway Accident Takes Political Turn/ Investigations Begin

External company, Attorney General's Office to investigate subway accident. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that the government had hired an external company to carry out an investigation into the Mexico City subway accident on Monday. "The Head of Government (Claudia Sheinbaum) decided that a company that has knowledge of the matter should intervene in the investigation to give an opinion. As she has said, we will do the investigation in accordance with the law. There will be justice." López Obrador added that the Attorney General's Office has also initiated an investigation so that the government and Mexicans can have a better understanding of the causes and identify those responsible.

AMLO asks parties to avoid using subway accident for political purposes. López Obrador called on all political parties to avoid using the subway tragedy for political purposes, especially as the legislative elections approach on June 6. This was after leaders of the PAN appeared in Tlahuac, where the accident occurred, to demand the resignation of the director of the Subway Collective Transportation System, Florence Serranía. "Yesterday, they went from the conservative party to the site and even the people rejected them. They had very irresponsible attitudes. We should not take advantage of the tragedy," said López Obrador.

Government austerity is blamed for the subway accident. López Obrador addressed some of the accusations that the austerity of his government was the cause of the accident and stressed that the government could allocate a larger budget to the Subway Collective Transportation System to repair the damages caused by the accident, despite the fact the system already has a big budget. "Yes, if necessary, we will give more. I was reading that the president or a representative of COPARMEX attributes the accident to Republican austerity. Look at this degree of irresponsibility. The accident had nothing to do with that," said López Obrador.

March breaks remittances record. López Obrador applauded the solidarity of Mexican migrants in the US as remittances sent in March broke a record. He stressed that April is expected to perform very well. “In March, remittances totaled US$4.1 billion, and we are already projecting that in April we could have between US$2.9 billion and US$4.06 billion. Many thanks to the Mexican migrants for their support.” López Obrador explained that the money received helps to boost the national economy, since it provides people with money to consume basic goods, which has been essential to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.

US Vice President will visit Mexico after the elections. Lopez Obrador announced that US Vice President Kamala Harris will arrive in Mexico after the elections in June. In addition, López Obrador announced that this week he will contact Harris to discuss migration issues and possible solutions to address them. “The migratory flow must be orderly, and its causes addressed. This means that there must be more jobs for there to be hope in southeastern Mexico and Central America.” López Obrador stressed that his “Sowing Life” program could be a good solution for many countries since it would increase employment, mitigating the need for people to migrate.

Guatemala supports the idea of the US investing in Central America. López Obrador said that he spoke with Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei and both support the US proposal to invest in Central American countries since "we know that there are so many needs and poverty."

Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish