Summary of the main points in President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s daily press conference
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador indicated that there is no legal impediment for the new free textbooks issued by the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) to reach schools for the start of classes on August 28. He accused conservatives of trying to stop their distribution as occurred during Adolfo López Mateos’ presidential administration.
The President reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Alicia Bárcena will visit Chiapas to formalize the installation of offices that will provide employment and training options to migrants seeking to reach the United States. She indicated that the migrants will also be able to carry out paperwork procedures without the need to cross the entire country to reach Mexico’s northern border.
President López Obrador exposed the mafia involved in the sale of medicines during the previous administration, when 10 companies monopolized 303 billion pesos (US$18 billion) of the pharmaceutical budget between 2012 and 2018. He said that this control and collusion is now over, with the consolidated purchases promoted by his administration to guarantee supply and generate savings. The end of this corruption, he said, led the conservative bloc to undertake smear campaigns against his government.
Deputy Minister of Health Hugo Lopez-Gatell explained that the National Autonomous University of Mexico‘s (UNAM) ‘s communiqué recommending the use of facemasks is a preventive measure for the student community, in view of the upcoming start of classes, which will coincide with the winter season that is conducive to an increase in cases of respiratory illnesses, including Covid-19.
Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell reiterated that sports are a key factor in preventing drug consumption. He pointed out that the Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial, and Urban Development has recovered 918 public spaces to promote physical exercise in the communities, which has benefited more than 5 million people.
