GENERAL SITUATION IN MEXICO
Weekly Review # 80 I November 10, 2021
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MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY LIGHT CAR ASSEMBLY HAS ITS WORST OCTOBER IN A DECADE
In tune with the global crisis of shortage of electronic components, the Mexican automotive industry again reduced its assembly and shipments to foreign markets during October 2021, which became the worst tenth month of the year for the sector in practically a decade. Production fell 25.9% to 257,813 units, the lowest level since October 2011, when the assembly was 240,648 vehicles. Meanwhile, exports fell 19.9% to 224,535 cars, the lowest share of foreign shipments since October 2012 (216,576 automobiles). Most of the 13 assembly brands that have operations in Mexico have implemented technical stoppages throughout the year due to the global shortage of semiconductors, which are the basis for the production of microchips, nowadays present in a large number of automobile parts (tachometers, central consoles, sensors, etc.). The drop in production -which is not exclusive to Mexicohas also been reflected in lower domestic sales, which in October also had its worst level for the same month in 10 years, with the turnover of 76,640 new cars, 9.1% lower than in October 2020 and 44.3% lower than in October 2016, the last sales peak.
In October, the brand that had to cut production the most, by far, was General Motors, whose assembly was down 68.6% to 25,018 units, while KIA’s output fell 38.4% to 14,300 vehicles. The third brand with the largest contraction was Volkswagen, which reduced its assembly by 37.6% to 25,856 pieces. In contrast, Toyota was the only assembler with positive figures, producing 6.4% more cars, to 22,372. In the export department, a correlation was observed, and General Motors was also the brand with the greatest decrease, dropping 55.2% to 31,228 cars, while at the opposite extreme, Toyota exported 3.1% more units, reaching 21,564. So far this year, total automotive assembly in Mexico has grown 1.9% to 2,520,489 units, while exports have risen 6% to 2,239,174 cars. However, analysts expect the year to end with negative figures for both indicators, as the shortage of components has been exacerbated in the last three months, and the outlook is not expected to improve in the last quarter of the year.
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GOOD NEWS US-MEXICO LAND BORDER REOPENS, REUNITING FAMILIES, SENDING SHOPPERS NORTH
The United States reopened its land border with Mexico on Monday, almost 20 months after closing, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The land border with Canada also reopened, as did flights from 33 countries, including the U.K., much of Europe, China, Brazil, and South Africa. U.S. authorities are only allowing entry to people who had vaccines approved by the World Health Organization. The Sputnik V and CanSino vaccines, administered to millions of people in Mexico, are not currently on that list. Mexicans were largely banned from crossing the border during the pandemic, which transformed the lives of many who live in border cities. Seeing family and friends, medical appointments, or shopping over the border were all ruled out. U.S. citizens, on the other hand, enjoyed greater freedom to travel between the two countries. Traffic levels at ports and in the land crossings were expected to register millions of travelers, hitting levels seen before the pandemic, the newspaper El Pais reported, but Monday’s traffic was not as heavy as expected, according to several media reports. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that visa holders should bring proof of vaccination and verbally indicate their reason for travel at the border. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the reopening was a positive decision. “We are pleased to take another step toward easing travel restrictions at our borders in a manner that strengthens our economy and protects the health and safety of the American public … We continue working closely with our international partners to implement new rules for resuming travel sustainably,” he said. The accepted vaccines for nonessential travel are Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Covishield, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.
SOURCE: Mexico News Daily
People traveling for essential reasons are not required to be vaccinated until January 2022, when a new phase of border regulations will take force. As for under 18s, they will need a negative COVID-19 test taken a maximum of three days before departure if traveling with a vaccinated adult. However, if they are traveling alone or with an unvaccinated adult, they must submit a negative test carried out 24 hours before the trip. Grandmother Martha Ochoa Moreno, 68, from Ciudad Juarez, was one of many people reunited with loved ones on Monday. She had not seen her 28-year-old granddaughter, Laura Tinajero since the border closed. Prior to the closure, she crossed several times a week to shop and visit family. “There is nothing like being able to hug [loved ones]; video calls helped us a lot all during those months, but it’s not the same. Today I will finally be able to hug my granddaughter,” she told the Dallas Morning News. Another relieved family member was 60-year-old Ramon Delgado, from Chihuahua, who saw his sister Bertha Galvan, 71, an El Paso resident. “I was very happy because [we had] not seen each other for a long time since the pandemic began,” said Delgado. “My sister got COVID, not me, and I was scared. And that’s why I really wanted to see her and hug her,” he added. “There is a lot of emotion to be able to hug him finally; the truth was I was afraid. I thought they were not going to let people through. When he called me and said, ‘I’m here,’ I didn’t believe it,” Galvan said. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico warned that wait times at borders are expected to increase and that travelers should plan for longer than normal wait times and exercise patience.
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KEY POINTS OF PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR’S Morning Press Conference November 3-9, 2021
GLASGOW SUMMIT-CLIMATE CHANGE President Lopez Obrador released the letter he sent to President Biden prior to the Glasgow Summit, where he expressed his support for the fight against climate change. He stated that the government of Mexico would join the effort and that it is committed to fulfilling commitments such as continuing to reserve fossil fuels, extract only for internal consumption, not extract more than 2 million barrels per day, as well as continuing with the larges reforestation program in the world, Sembrando Vid program, in which Mexico invests 1,300 million dollars annually. In this letter, he also mentioned that Mexico has not granted a single concession for toxic mining, does not allow fracking, and is limiting the use of agrochemicals.
SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxEgOKuI-n-WOJaNcisHvSg
ELECTRICAL REFORM The president pointed out that Ken Salazar is a good ambassador, and they have good relations. He mentioned that the ambassador had previously said that the Mexican government was doing well. He commented that there is a very good relationship with the United States and that there is no complaint or protest over the electrical issue or the oil issue, just as there is respect for the sovereignty of Mexico. BACK TO SCHOOL The president called on the school authorities to reopen the schools in their entirety and to return to face-to-face classes. Likewise, it specified that the cases in minors have not increased with the return to schools; 55,701 cases have been registered in minors since 16 August 2021
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MEASURES TAKEN BY STATES IN MEXICO
BAJA CALIFORNIA The State of Baja California changed to high-risk or orange light aligned with the Federal government due to the trend of new infections in the municipalities. Official reports confirmed 2,700 active cases, with hospital occupancy at 25.48%. The vaccination plan continues this week with the application of the first dose of Astra Zeneca to the adult population and the second dose of Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, and Sinovac to pregnant women.
SONORA The State of Sonora is considered lowrisk or green light with five municipalities in the medium-risk tier or yellow light and only one municipality out of 72 in the high-risk tier or orange light. 39 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours. The vaccination plan continues this week with the application of a second dose of Astra Zeneca to the adult population. Sonora continues with the vaccination process against COVID-19 in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years with risk factors. The registration is on the government health website.
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MEASURES TAKEN BY STATES IN MEXICO
COAHUILA The Ministry of Health of Coahuila announced that on November 11, the Covid Coahuila Assistant will take office, which will allow users to be notified by cell phones if they were in contact with someone positive for the virus. TAMAULIPAS After 18 months of a COVID-19 pandemic, the border between States and Mexico, at its crossing through Laredo-Tamaulipas and Laredo-Texas, was opened by the authorities of both countries. NUEVO LEON Nuevo Leon will be the first state in the country that this week will begin to vaccinate children between the ages of five and eleven against COVID-19, said Governor Samuel Garcia Sepulveda, during a tour of the north of the state and Texas.
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MEASURES TAKEN BY STATES IN MEXICO
QUERETARO After several weeks, for the first time in Queretaro, there are municipalities free of active cases of COVID-19, according to the epidemiological map of the state, issued daily by the local health authority. The most updated report from the Health Secretariat of the State of Queretaro (SESEQ) states that currently, 4 of the 18 municipalities are free of people infected with the disease COVID-19. Thus, the municipalities of Arroyo Seco, Peñamiller, Arroyo Seco, and Landa de Matamoros, all in the Sierra Gorda of the state, are free at the moment of the virus, according to the epidemiological map of the SESEQ. Although this does not imply that new infections cannot be registered, this is the first time since mid-October that Queretaro has more than one municipality free of active disease cases.
JALISCO Together with the Board of Health, the State Government announced the new sanitary measures of the Jalisco COVID-19 Plan in force. The pandemic has not ceased, but the Governor said that the behavior of this one gives the guideline for the economic reactivation and the return to classes. The effectiveness of the measures implemented and the evolution of the sanitary emergency generate the right conditions for schools to attend 100% of their enrollment daily from Monday to Friday during regular school hours. The only exception will be schools with groups of more than 40 students whose educational spaces do not have adequate ventilation; these schools will continue to operate in a hybrid manner, with 50% of the enrollment. With this scheme, more than 97% of the schools will be able to serve 100% of their enrollment on a daily basis.
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MEASURES TAKEN BY STATES IN MEXICO
AGUASCALIENTES The week began with a slight increase in the demand for beds in critical areas of hospitals. 55 more infections have been confirmed, and a slight increase in the demand for beds in critical areas of hospitals, which speaks of the danger of the bugs. Thus, the week begins with a balance of 36,062 people who the coronavirus has attacked and with a little more than 4,170 of them who have not been able to overcome the infectious disease, while, fortunately, a total of 28,952 have been able to recover so far. According to the report handled by the Federal Ministry of Health, most of the cases studied in the laboratories have negative results, totaling 87,362, including the 234 cases that turned out to be false to the coronavirus. This situation is attributed to the effectiveness of the vaccines being applied to the most at-risk population. 58 more suspected cases were reported, bringing the figure to 11,709 cases.
GUANAJUATO The state of Guanajuato continues in third place nationally in active cases of Covid, reporting 2,754, which represents 12.44 percent nationally (22,133). In the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health reported 309 new positive cases of coronavirus, totaling 191,221 during the entire pandemic. The agency also informed that the number of deaths increased to 29, totaling 13,120 people who have died from COVID-19. So far in November, 101 deaths have been reported, while October registered 599 and September 696. Of the 289 people hospitalized for acute respiratory disease, only 14.76 percent had a dose of the anti-Covid vaccine, and 254 had none. The municipality of Leon is in first place with 80 new positive cases and 14 deaths, followed by Irapuato with 60 and nine deaths, Celaya with 26 new cases and one death. In the case of Salvatierra, there are 26 cases and no deaths; Cueramaro with 16 cases and no deaths; Guanajuato capital with 15 cases and no deaths and finally Salamanca with ten new cases and two deaths.
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MEASURES TAKEN BY STATES IN MEXICO
STATE OF MEXICO The Secretary of Health of the State of Mexico counted 46 new cases; to date, a total of 103,588 Mexicans have been discharged from the health system after overcoming this disease. After almost two years of confinement due to the pandemic, the first massive concert was held in the State of Mexico. The event, held at the International Horse Fair in Texcoco, hosted more than 4 thousand people in an open space to prevent the spread of COVID-19. CDMX The Metropolitan area of Mexico City (including the State of Mexico) reported the lowest point of hospitalizations since April 2020. Eduardo Clark informed that only 210 cases and 9 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. As this is the lowest point of the pandemic, the green epidemiological stoplight will remain green, allowing all activities to occur.
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ECONOMIC GROWTH IN MEXICO EL BUEN FIN WILL HELP TO REACTIVATE THE ECONOMY: AMLO
The main concern of businessmen, members, and presidents of chambers of commerce is the economic reactivation after the crisis generated by the COVID-19, and the Buen Fin 2021 edition is “a great opportunity” to achieve it, said Jose Hector Tejada Shaar. El Buen Fin, which will take place from November 10 to 16, explained the president of the Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism (Concanaco-Servytur) is, without a doubt, the most important event in the country and one that cannot be compared to any other. “This will help the economic reactivation in a very important way, and today in our country, we have excellent conditions for this Buen Fin to take place.” In the presence of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, business people and officials promoted the Buen Fin during the morning conference. Raquel Buenrostro, head of SAT, informed that as part of the Buen Fin, the federal government will offer a purse of 500 million pesos in prizes through SAT. Of this amount, she explained, 100 million pesos will be for businesses, since for the second year, they will also be included, and 400 million will go to consumers. In the case of businesses, he added, the prizes range from 20,000 pesos to the general ones, and in the case of consumers, the prizes are varied, and the flagship prize is 250,000 pesos.
SOURCE: El Economista
Lopez Obrador said he was pleased that this week will be used to “go shopping and acquire merchandise at fair prices. It is a program that helps reactivate the economy, commerce and promotes competition, which means savings for consumers.”
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TOWARDS THE “NEW NORMAL”
DISTRIBUTION OF DEATHS PER STATE DUE TO THE PANDEMIC
INFORMATION UPDATED ON NOVEMBER 9, 2021 AT 19:00 HRS LOCAL TIME.
NEW CASES REPORTED: 810
SOURCE: https://www.gob.mx/salud/
CONFIRMED CASES: 3,827,596
NEW DEATHS REPORTED: 77
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 289,811
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INCREASE OF CONFIRMED CASES SINCE THE FIRST REPORT MAP WITH THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE INCIDENCE RATE OF ACCUMULATED CASES OF COVID-19 BY ENTITY OF RESIDENCE.
National rate 15.11
0 to 10.0 (16 states)
40.1 to 50 (0 states)
10.1 to 20 (7 states)
50.1 to 60 (0 states)
20.1 to 30 (5 states)
60.1 to 70 (0 states)
30.1 to 40 (3 states)
>70 (1 states)
Elaborated by Prodensa with information from the Health Ministry of Mexico
PANDEMIC’S SITUATION IN THE WORLD • As of November 8 2021, globally there have been reported 249,743,428 confirmed cases (317,865 new cases) of COVID-19 and 5,047,652 deaths (4,962 new deaths*). Lethal rate: 2%. In the last 24 hours, 6,149,305 cases were reported globally.
SOURCE: https://www.gob.mx/salud/
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TOWARDS THE “NEW NORMAL” INCIDENTS OF CONTAGIONS IN THE POPULATION BY REGION AS OF NOVEMBER 8
DEATH INCIDENTS IN POPULATION BY REGION AS OF NOVEMBER 8
SOURCE: https://www.gob.mx/salud/
EHS LABOR
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THE PURCHASING POWER OF THE MINIMUM WAGE Mexico is on the way to recovering the purchasing power that the minimum wage has lost. Today, the federal government and employers’ associations, unions, and political parties support the recovery of the minimum wage. Most of the Mexican territory, except for the cities located in the MexicoUSA border, have a current minimum wage that is not enough for a family to survive. Even when the Mexican constitution sets provisions indicating that the minimum wage is meant to be a living wage, it still falls short by a lot. To recover the purchasing level, an increase of approximately 60% will be required. We will probably see in Mexico annual increases during three years of 16% to 21% to meet the expected level.
ALVARO GARCIA HR, Vice President
The Minimum wage commission will be approving next month, most probably mid-December, the Mexico minimum wages for 2022.
BOOSTER SHOTS - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What are the risks to getting a booster shot? So far, after getting a booster shot were similar to that of the 2-shot or single-dose initial series. Fever, headache, fatigue, and pain at the injection site were the most commonly reported side effects, and overall, most side effects were mild to moderate. However, as with the 2-shot or single-dose initial series, serious side effects are rare but may occur. Am I still considered “fully vaccinated” if I don’t get a booster shot? Yes. Everyone is still considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a 2-shot series, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as the J&J/Janssen vaccine.
DAVID ANTUNEZ Environmental, Health, and Safety Director.
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