Mexico Defies Calls to Shut Airports for Fear of Economic Hit
Mexico Defies Calls to Shut Airports for Fear of Economic Hit
(Bloomberg) -- Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ruled out closing airports and other tough measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic, saying he’s trying to prevent a complete shutdown of the economy that would hurt the poor.
In sharp contrast with the policies implemented by most of its neighbors, Mexico for the moment won’t bow to pressure to shut its airports, restaurants and curtail social life because it needs to defend economic activity, Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, said Wednesday.
There are “pressures of all types. Close the airport, shut down everything, paralyze the economy. No,” the president said at his daily press conference in Mexico City. “Of course we’re worried about the situation of the epidemic, and we have to attend to it, but we also have to act responsibly.”
Mexico faces the perfect storm of a possible recession in the U.S., its biggest trading partner, drastically lower revenue from its oil producer Pemex from the rout in crude prices, and a slump in tourism as travelers stay home due to the virus.
The economy is likely to contract by 4% this year, the most since 2009, as the pandemic hits demand for the country’s products, Credit Suisse Group AG said in a report on Tuesday.
AMLO said he expects the global economy to stabilize thanks to the “direct, deep” intervention of the U.S. government. “They will do anything to stabilize, so that helps every country in the world.”
To face the crisis, Mexico will tighten the government budget while expanding social spending programs, such as speeding up handouts to the elderly, the president said. He spoke after meeting with his cabinet Tuesday to discuss strategy to face the financial crisis.
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