Vaccinations on Track/Rise in Tortilla Prices

COVID-19 vaccination. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed that vaccinations of older adults have progressed as expected and said that organization has been key. He also mentioned that the government would soon close a deal with China to purchase extra doses of vaccines from that country. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard added that 3 million vaccines had doses had arrived. “The date to start and finish the second phase (of vaccinations) is the last days of March.”

Tortilla price rise. Addressing the increase in the cost of tortillas, a staple in Mexican households, AMLO cited the cost of corn, which has risen internationally. “When we reached the end of the Feb. 18, the basic salary was only enough to buy six kilos, but we do care a lot that purchasing power is improved, that there is no inflation.” López Obrador has said that the price of tortillas would not change but that has not been the case. Earlier this year, reports cited prices climbing as much as 60 percent. Although the price of corn in the US has gained, Mexico produces most of its own corn for consumption.

Full liters. The government will be taking action against gas stations that are caught not giving full liters, said AMLO. “A gas station that is found stealing, that does not deliver full liters, we are about to make a reform to suspend the concession. The robbery is over. Whoever is found to have a device in the pump will have their concession canceled.”

No more politics. AMLO said that once his six-year term is done, he will dedicate himself to writing a book on conservative thinking and will move away from politics. “I am already doing a job, but I am preparing myself psychologically for that. I have already made the decision that to get away completely, I am going to write. I have a book that I want to do, on conservative thinking in Mexico.”

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish