Mexico is preparing to enter the most acute phase of the coronavirus pandemic with the same problems as countries that have already gone through that phase, to which it is necessary to add some others of national manufacture. To the severe deficiencies of its health system, the North American country adds the refusal of its president to increase spending - as requested by experts, businessmen and his own secretary of the Treasury - to mitigate the economic blow that threatens to destroy the productive fabric of the nation and further impoverish broad layers of the population. The health system would also benefit from an extra investment, given the cuts in recent years, which continued under the present Administration.
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Latin America and the pandemic
López Obrador's behavior doesn't help either. Until recently, the president continued his tours, where he gathered crowds, in clear contradiction with those responsible for epidemiology, who insisted that the population had to stay home to break the chain of infections. This same weekend, the president thanked the Mexicans for perfectly complying with the recommendations. At the same time, the officials responsible for controlling the epidemic complained that too many people ignore them, especially the thousands of people who took advantage of Easter to go on vacation.
Similar confusion reigns over the state of the hospital network. The official speech insists that it is prepared and that all the necessary material is available, both for patient care and for the protection of health workers, a key point, as seen in Italy, Spain or the USA. At the same time, health personnel protest day after day in demand of protective equipment. There is also not enough evidence.
The massive infections that have occurred in many public centers give them, unfortunately, the reason. Signs are also beginning to surface that some hospitals are nearing the limit of their capabilities, weeks before the expected peak of cases, fueling fear of a collapse with devastating consequences. In recent weeks there have been hasty purchases of material, as well as the hiring of additional medical personnel. All this implies that, despite observing what was happening in the rest of the world, some key decisions were postponed. Several states (Jalisco, Michoacán) have tightened social isolation measures for what they consider a lack of response from the federal government. They are decisions dictated more by political interests than by the health crisis. Addressing the latter, mitigating its consequences and avoiding economic collapse must now be, leaving petty political calculations aside, everyone's priority. Also that of the President.
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