Sheinbaum stops the celebration of a massive concert in the middle of the pandemic

Mexico City has stopped short of the holding of the first massive concert after the health emergency was declared due to the covid-19 pandemic at the end of last March.

The head of Government, Claudia Sheinbaum, has clarified in her press conference this Friday that "it is not yet viable" to hold events of this type.

The confusion arose after the Arena Ciudad de México, owned by Guillermo Salinas Pliego, ignored sanitary restrictions and announced since last month the presentation of La Trakalosa de Monterrey, a popular band of the Mexican regional genre, on October 16.

Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Guillermo's brother and owner of Grupo Salinas, one of the largest business consortiums in the country, has repeatedly clashed with the authorities over the shutdown of the economy.

Despite the latest challenge to managing the epidemic, Sheinbaum has stood firm: "We already communicated with them, it is not going to happen."

The Government of the capital has opted for caution, despite the fact that hospitalizations due to coronavirus have fallen in recent days, and has ordered the reopening of casinos and bowling alleys at 30% of their capacity, respecting social distancing and prevention measures .

The arrival of the seasonal influenza season due to the fall in temperatures as the end of the year approaches has put the Mexican authorities on alert, who have started a vaccination campaign this month to avoid saturation of hospitals and that cases of covid increase or are mistaken for flu symptoms.

"Let's not lower our guard, we don't want outbreaks," insisted the head of government.

The vaccination campaign - originally planned to prioritize vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and health personnel - has exceeded expectations in the capital, where the first batch of 300,000 doses has become scarce.

The local government is optimistic about the favorable response of the citizens and denies that there is a shortage because it is planned to apply 1.8 million injections against influenza.

The challenge for federal authorities is to define how many vaccines there will be and how they will be distributed among the nearly 130 million inhabitants of the country, a figure that makes it difficult to cover the entire population.

“We only know that the government has said that it has purchased between 32 and 36 million vaccines for influenza.

The problem is that we do not know how they are going to be delivered, if suddenly or little by little.

In any case, the coverage rates of vaccines in general have been falling for years and now that is very serious ”, says Rodrigo Romero, coordinator of the Mexican Association of Vaccination.

The position of the government of the capital, meanwhile, is to avoid mass crowds and not to authorize events with the public until further notice, two government sources have said before the formal cancellation of the concert.

An adjustment that occurred with the advance of the virus and after the criticism for giving the green light to the Vive Latino festival on March 14.

The presentation of La Trakalosa had been announced with measures such as sanitizing the seats, special cleaning points with antibacterial gel, a

service

for attendees and enough space to maintain a "healthy distance" with access only for 30% of the 22,000 spectators that the venue can hold.

"In an environment designed so that the guest can enjoy and feel safe at all times," reads a statement from the Arena Ciudad de México.

Edwin Luna and La Trakalosa de Monterrey will be the first band to present the first concert with Sana Distancia and with all the health measures that are required to return to the stage 🥳

📅 October 16 ⏰ 9:00 pm

🎟 https: // t .co / RwGojzahzd pic.twitter.com/42RCuMZ7fx

- Arena Cd México (@ArenaCdMexico) September 14, 2020

The organizers, even, had already started the sale of tickets, with a price range from 518 to 2,875 pesos (between 24 and almost 135 dollars).

“I am grateful to each of the people who economically have the ability to stay at home, but on the other hand, those of us who have the need to leave, we want them to understand that part.

We have six months without having a single job and supporting the salary of more than 60 people who work in the company, "said Edwin Luna, the band's vocalist in September.

Guillermo Salinas Pliego is president and owner of Grupo Avalanz, which operates the site and also has TV Azteca subsidiaries for Monterrey, the second most economically important city in the country, and the northeast area.

He is also a member of the board of TV Azteca, Grupo Salinas and Grupo Elektra, owned by his brother.

"We are millions of people who want to continue with our activities, freely choosing what is convenient for us and accepting the natural risk of living in an uncertain environment," wrote Ricardo Salinas Pliego last June.

"Do not impose your authoritarian vision," demanded the Health Council, the highest body of Health in the country.

"Don't pay any attention to Hugo López-Gatell," Javier Alatorre, presenter of one of TV Azteca's main newscasts, said in mid-April about the Mexican spokesman regarding the pandemic.

The company was only reprimanded by the government after the messages.

That same month, workers from the Salinas Pliego consortium reported that they were being forced to go to their offices despite calls from authorities to stay home.

Despite constant clashes with the authorities, Ricardo Salinas Pliego is part of the Business Advisory Council of the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and has obtained important concessions during his tenure, such as the direct award to Banco Azteca of the management of the payment of the main subsidies President's Social

“It is not worth imposing your vision on others from a comfortable armchair.

Practice kindness towards those most in need, ”wrote the businessman, one of the richest men in Mexico, four months ago.

Sheinbaum has made it clear that for the moment there will be no exceptions not even within his Government, which has also announced the virtual celebration of the International Book Fair in the capital's main square.

"We are in a working table with the different private cultural promoters and we will see in what way, if feasible, to develop this type of concerts with fewer attendees", the president has settled.