President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that there will be around 10 reform bills to be presented on February 5. These include judicial branch reforms that will enable the people to elect judges and justices. The President insisted that the democratic method is the most effective to clean up corruption in this branch of government.
In response to Donald Trump’s statements that if he is elected he would close the border with Mexico, President López Obrador clarified that the movement between the two countries cannot be blocked because economic and social integration is of key importance. He reiterated that, during the election campaign period, candidates will say many things to try to win votes.
The President recalled that one of the most extreme cases of corruption faced by his administration was in the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE), which is why he designated the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) to lead its restructuring. The SSPC concluded that the ISSSTE was plagued by corruption, conflicts of interest, and fraud for up to 15 billion pesos (US$870 million).
President López Obrador announced that there is a dirty campaign underway to discredit the operation of the Megafarmacia, a huge pharmacy that will guarantee the supply of pharmaceuticals nationwide. He explained that many phone calls to this large warehouse are not to obtain medicines, but to verify that Megafarmacia is functioning. The President indicated that the number of Covid-19 cases in the country is not critical and said that there is space available in hospitals.
Minister of Security and Citizen Protection Rosa Icela Rodríguez reported that since the beginning of the current presidential administration, federal crimes have fallen 34.2%. Intentional homicides are down 24.7%, with respect to the record registered in July 2018. Fuel theft has decreased 94.2%.
With the Foreign Vehicle Regularization Program, over 2 million vehicles have been legalized, resulting in 5.01 billion pesos (US$295 million) entering the public coffers. Tamaulipas, Chihuahua, and Baja California account for 51.1% of these vehicle regularizations.
