Mexican Retailers Shamed by AMLO Remain Open Amid Virus
Mexican Retailers Shamed Publicly by AMLO Remain Open Amid Virus
(Bloomberg) -- Despite publicly calling out two major Mexican retailers for staying open during the coronavirus pandemic, and later boasting they had agreed to close their doors for non-essential services, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s efforts to enforce official restrictions appear to be flailing.
A tour of four stores owned by Grupo Elektra SAB and two owned by Grupo Coppel in Mexico City -- the epicenter of the virus -- found that shoppers can buy any item in all six stores, from toasters to televisions.
The companies are defying a national emergency Lopez Obrador decreed at the end of March requiring businesses to shut to reduce contagion. Other businesses, including a plant run by beer maker Constellation Brands, have also remained open despite the mandatory lockdown. Lopez Obrador has chosen not to take harsh measures against companies that refuse to shutter, opting for “persuasion” over the use of force.
Elektra, in a reply to a request for comment, said its doors have remained open to keep bringing essential products and services to those in need.
“Responsibly and in full compliance with the hygiene and safety measures established by the authorities, at Elektra, we continue to work so that millions of people maintain access to their savings, means of payment and support from social programs, as well as telecommunications products and services, computer equipment, basic necessities and more.”
Coppel said it has always complied with guidelines from authorities and continues to do so.
The federal government didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.
Elektra has argued that its stores house Banco Azteca branches and banking is an essential activity. Coppel also operates banks in Mexico.
But the many aisles of merchandise such as stereos in between the entrance and the branches in the back are still open for purchases by customers at the six stores visited. They aren’t considered crucial by the government in this stage of its reopening plan.
In addition to the in-person visits, an Elektra customer service operator said by phone that there were no shopping restrictions at stores. A Coppel operator said in-store purchases were suspended, but calls to four additional Coppel shops found two were still selling appliances on-site. The other two said it was restricted.
The Elektra and Coppel stores contacted by Bloomberg News represent a small sample, and it’s possible most of them are following the rules.
Mexico reported this week a record daily increase of 501 deaths due to coronavirus and clocked 3,377 new cases on Thursday. The country is rising among nations with the deadliest outbreaks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Elektra’s owner, billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who sits on the president’s business council, has been a vocal opponent of the government’s restrictions and has been calling on people to keep working.
“What’s the plan for the future?” he tweeted on May 25. He listed several options including “staying shut indoors until one fine day you stop being pendejos and go outside and live your life with all of its risks?” Pendejos can be translated as idiots, but has other more pejorative connotations.
In April, a star anchor at Salinas’s television station, TV Azteca, had told viewers to ignore the country’s health czar in charge of containing the coronavirus, causing the Interior Ministry to say that it may have violated free speech provisions. Lopez Obrador later said he didn’t want to fine the station.
After calling out Elektra and Coppel in a slideshow presentation of scofflaw companies at his daily press conferences, Lopez Obrador said on May 11 that the two retailers had acquiesced and would follow the health decree.
“They agreed to obey and close their stores and leave only what is essential,” he said. “I am grateful for this attitude.”
Labor Minister Luisa Alcalde tweeted on May 7 that Elektra’s management had agreed to close its 1,200 points of sale, apart from financial services.
The six stores visited by Bloomberg News had few shoppers and masks were mandatory at all locations. Some offered antibacterial gel at the door, while others limited the number of customers.
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