President Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed his condolences for the death of 27 people as a result of Hurricane Otis. He also reported that four sailors are missing. «What hurts the most is the loss of human lives,» he said.
The Chief Executive said that the Mexican government has resources available to attend to emergencies. He explained that «when the people of Mexico need support, the entire public budget can be used without restrictions.” The President went on to say that the elimination of the National Disaster Fund (Fonden) did not imply the loss of resources and described the statements in this regard as politicking. He pointed out that in the past, this fund was only used to steal resources.
President López Obrador reported that the Volaris, Aeromexico, and VivaAerobus airlines will collaborate in returning tourists from Zihuatanejo while operations at Acapulco airport are being reestablished. He announced that the Mexico City-Acapulco highway will be fully open this afternoon.
The President reported that 500 federal civil servants have been deployed to Guerrero to conduct a house-by-house census of the affected homes and businesses. He announced that 500 more civil servants will travel to the affected areas in the next few hours. «We are going to support all those affected with a construction and housing improvement program,» he said.
President López Obrador announced that next Monday, October 30, a meeting will be held with representatives of the hotel industry in Acapulco, with the goal of creating a joint plan for the reactivation of tourism in the region. He reported that the affected small businesses will be included in a census to receive support from the Financiera del Bienestar development bank.
Minister of Security and Citizen Protection Rosa Icela Rodríguez reported that yesterday government officials began touring the municipalities affected by Hurricane Otis to evaluate the damages. She indicated that they are working on the restoration of roads damaged by landslides, floods, and fallen trees.
