Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, has a sense of direction.
"
Be ready, big announcement in 15 minutes,
" he tweeted on Tuesday.
The place to speak was not chosen at random: a Mexican restaurant in Lubbock, a discreet town of 230,000 inhabitants in northwest Texas.
On his wheelchair (he is the third paraplegic governor of the country), Greg Abbott then advances to the pulpit, solemn, while the local news channels launch their banner "Breaking News".
He enthusiastically decrees the end of the mask wearing legislation and explains that “
all businesses will have the right
” to resume their activity.
Thunderous applause in the room.
"
Now is the time to reopen Texas 100%
", He swears, praising the economic dynamism of the State,"
the 9th economy in the world
".
To discover
Test, isolation: the procedure to follow in the event of a suspicion of Covid-19
Read also: Joe Biden suffers a setback in the Senate
The governor says the hardest part is over.
He ensures that he is based on the encouraging prospects for vaccination.
"
By the end of the month, everyone who wants to be vaccinated will be able to do so,
" he explains.
So far, 13% of the population has received at least one dose.
However, Texas is not yet one of the most advanced American states: neighboring New Mexico has a rate of 23%.
Greg Abbott also relies on collective immunity.
"
About 10 million Texans
(only 2.3 confirmed cases, Editor's note)
have recovered from Covid [...] and are therefore capable of conquering the disease"
.
The number of people hospitalized is indeed at its lowest these days.
Less than 6,000 against 14,000 people in mid-January.
The number of deaths per day, around 225 on average, is also lower than during the peak at the start of the year (around 340).
Greg Abbott did not announce the end of the pandemic, but insisted on turning a page: “
It does not end personal responsibility.
[...] Texans must follow preventive measures as for any other disease
.
The next day, Mississippi, another Republican state, took the same action.
I am proud to be Texan.
Amber Rodriguez, business manager
Hot at the White House.
Joe Biden was quick to react, calling these choices “
big mistakes
”.
"
The last thing we need is some prehistoric reasoning that says all is well now, 'take off your masks', 'forget about it',
" counterattacked the US president.
The most violent criticism did not come from Washington.
The governor of Texas was let go by his own science advisers.
Three of them confessed Wednesday that they had not been consulted on this change in doctrine.
"
I don't think this is the right time,
" said one of them, Dr. Mark McClellan, director of the Duke University Center for Public Health, in a statement.
"
Should you continue to wear a mask?"
The answer is absolutely yes, ”
said Dr. John Hellerstedt of the
Texas Department of State Health Services,
also a member of Greg Abbott's health guard.
A very political mask
The population is shared.
Some rejoice: "
The governor has gained courage,
" Kendall Czech, a resident of Dallas, told the
New York Times
.
“
I'm proud to be Texan,
” enthuses Amber Rodriguez, owner of an air conditioning company in Houston.
Others sink into anguish.
“
I haven't slept since the announcement
,” sighs Macy Moore, manager of a bar chain.
“
The safety of our employees has to matter more than that.
I do not see how we can continue to demand the mask without the support of the state.
Already before, we did not have a lot of support ... We were insulted [by clients], there were physical altercations ...
”, she tells CNN.
The battle of the mask is very political.
A recent
University of Texas
poll found
that 82% of Texas Democrats said controlling the virus was the most important thing, while 72% of Republicans prioritized economic recovery.
The elected Democrats logically castigated the choice of Governor Abbott.
"
We are not even half, quarter, 10% of where we should be [to be able to loosen the measures]
, attacked one of the governor's biggest opponents, Linda Hidalgo, the county judge of Harris (Texas).
Most observers - including her - saw it as an attempt to regain control after the polar storm fiasco.
The state's shortcomings in electricity, water and the number of victims have put the authorities of the
Lone Star State
under pressure.
“
There has been some attention lately about state failures with respect to the power grid.
This is a good story to divert attention, but you put people's lives in danger, ”
the Democrat lamented in a televised address.
Greg Abbott was also under pressure from the right wing of his own party.
The Covid-19 prevention measures put in place were very poorly perceived by some local Republicans.
"
Mistrust of the federal state and their preference for a limited government, even at state level, are written in their history
", explained Laurence Nardon, researcher at Ifri (French Institute of International Relations) in a study on the Texan conservatives.
Local Republicans' new chairman Allen West, a former Tea Party alumnus, publicly disagreed with the governor over the measures being advocated.
He wasn't the only one: Greg Abbott's popularity has fallen 9% since the start of the pandemic.
Nationally, too, the Covid restrictions are political markers.
Before Tuesday, 12 states - all Republicans - did not have a mask-wearing requirement.
Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida, and Kristi Noem, of South Dakota, were cited as examples for their efforts to keep their savings “open”.
The first was even named in a poll as the potential best conservative candidate if Donald Trump did not run in 2024. Greg Abbott, also tested by pollsters, fell short in the same survey: 0%.
