Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Enjoy your turkey or tofurkey (Tofu + turkey), wherever you may be. 🦃
After a crazy week last week, Mexican drama cooled down (a bit) but don’t worry, we still have plenty of material to keep you informed and entertained. We promise, México Desde Afuera is still better than any Telenovela you may find at Univision or TV Azteca.
Bloomberg: When it comes to Covid, Mexico govt’ kind of sucks … but why?
Bloomberg
Bloomberg News, one of the top media outlets for the business and financial world, developed a Covid Resilience Ranking, which is meant to show which have been the best (and worst) countries in tackling the pandemic. Of the 53 countries from the study, Mexico is at the bottom of the list, sí hasta abajo.
The list ranks each country according to 10 metrics: from growth in virus cases to the overall mortality rate, treatment capabilities, and the impact of restrictions on the economy. Although Mexico has a greater score in access to vaccines than countries like New Zealand and Taiwan, its latest positive test rate is at 62%, evidence that it is heavily under testing - Belgium’s rate (who rank 50 out of 53) is at 13.5%. According to Bloomberg journalists, although the list isn’t final, it is intended to be a snapshot of the current situation.
Does this matter to AMLO? Although he hasn’t been directly asked about this, we shouldn’t expect anything more than something like,“we've been doing a good job…. Mexico has less deaths per capita than countries like Spain … we are not an authoritarian country, thus we don’t implement strict lockdowns….”. Just last Friday, after Spanish newspaper El País ran a piece about Mexico hitting 100,000 Covid related deaths, AMLO went a massive rant against the piece, even having his spokesman read a FB comment calling out Spain for its poor job in handling the pandemic and calling its people fascist… Awkward
AMLO is in a good position to laugh off criticism. According to the latest poll by Buendia & Laredo, his approval rating is 64%, the highest since November 2019. As much as we love to read the Foreign Press, we must admit that its impact among his supporters is quite limited.
… and how is Mexico City trying to limit cases from going up while keeping businesses open? The local Head of Government, Claudia Sheinbaum (Morena), announced the use of a QR code system, in which citizens would be required to scan a QR in all closed space businesses in order to help the government contact-trace - in case a person tested positive, the government could notify others that had been there earlier. However, due to strong criticism, Sheinbaum backed down and stated that the measure will be not be mandatory - many residents saw the measure as a government surveillance tool that violated data privacy rights.
💻 Best Buys leaves Mexico
… and 2nd richest man makes fun of them
Best Buy wasn’t able to hang in Mexico during the pandemic, much to the delight of Mexico’s second richest man, Ricardo Salinas, who made fun of them in a series of tweets. Ricardo’s Grupo Salinas is the owner of Elektra, a local competitor of Best Buy, and they are more than happy to take the customers and talent left behind. Salinas has been very vocal against Mexican health officials for “wrecking the economy”. You might remember his defiance of Mexican of health recommendations and comparing lockdowns to jail OR back in 2013 when he criticized women who study, work, and raise children at the same time. What a guy. Reuters / Bloomberg
👮 What did AMLO promise the US in return for Cienfuegos?
After prestigious media outlets, including this newsletter, stated that AMLO’s government threatened the US with expelling DEA agents from the country in return for former Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos (who was arrested on drug trafficking charges last month at LAX), AMLO had to deny this - Yes, AMLO reads this newsletter… or the NYT. Then, our friends at Reuters published a piece saying that, according to a source in Mexico, AMLO agreed to work with the US to arrest a high-level cartel leader involved with trafficking large quantities of synthetic opioid fentanyl… The President had to deny this as well.
Although it is not clear who this drug lord might be, some have pointed to the leader of the Jalisco cartel, Nemesio Oseguera AKA El Mencho and Sinaloa cartel’s leader, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambado. A few days ago, Mexican security forces arrested a local drug cartel boss over the 2019 massacre of Mormon US-Mexican children and women in Sonora, but it is not clear if this was related to the Cienfuegos deal. Reuters
🚕 Didi Mujer arrives to Mexico
As a way of providing a safer way for women to work, Chinese ride-sharing company Didi launched the option “Didi Mujer”, which allows female drivers to only give rides to female passengers. The program is being piloted in select cities, such as Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Tijuana.
As of this month, Didi’s workforce is only 4.3% female, which is the main reason why this program is only available for drivers and not clients. The company does hope to attract more female drivers and attain a full 50-50 gender parity. Then it might start to also offer this program to its female clients.
⛪ This year make the Virgin of Guadalupe pilgrimage from your couch!
December 12 marks the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is usually celebrated by millions of pilgrims arriving at Lupe’s basilica in northern Mexico City. A site where Jesus’ mother Mary appeared to an Aztec man in 1531 (a decade after the Spanish conquest of Mexico). Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and a move that is about 2020 as it gets, the pilgrimage will now be held online. Don’t even think about trying to sneak in either, as a secure perimeter will be erected around the basilicas from the 10th-13th to ensure compliance. Los Angeles Times
🏪 When will I be able to buy weed at an Oxxo?
When the Senate passed a bill to legalize cannabis in Mexico last Thursday, the question in many people’s mind (including a reader of ours who emailed us) was: when will I be able to (legally) buy weed? The short answer is in about 18 months; once the bill gets signed by the President (he should do it before Dec. 15th). The bill requires dealers to obtain a permit from a new government agency. However, the lower chamber of Congress (Cámara de Diputados) can still modify the bill and expand this time-frame. The Economist
What else we’ve been reading:
🇺🇸 AMLO again declines to recognize Biden’s win.. X5
🏛️ Mexico wants to keep its line of credit with the IMF… why?
🎶 Natalia Lafourcade wins big at 2020 Latin Grammy Awards
Ricardo Salinas (65, employed billionaire)
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Fifí: you won’t find this word in any dictionary. According to AMLO, fifí is a modern spoiled person, a conservative. Someone who does not want change, who is in favor of an authoritarian regime and who pretends to be liberal…. Others might define a fifí as an upper class individual who is against AMLO’s government (and is losing their position of privilege)
AMLO’s quote: “I'm not going to get wet just for the picture, I'm not a fifí”
Some context: AMLO responded to opposition members that criticised him for not going into the water during his visit to Tabasco and Chiapas, two states horribly affected by flooding. He added that he could get sick by going in the water.