December 1 is the second anniversary of the inauguration of Mexican President Lopez. At 5 p.m. on the same day, López and his wife attended the celebration ceremony at the National Palace in the Mexican capital.
Due to the epidemic, only about 70 senior government officials attended the ceremony. At the ceremony, López officially read out his second policy address during his term, listing the achievements of two years in office and the challenges ahead.
The ceremony began with a tribute to Mexicans who lost their lives in the coronavirus pandemic. Lopez first reviewed the day he was sworn in as President of Mexico on December 1, 2018, reiterated his position of reducing government spending and fighting corruption and promoting integrity, noting that Mexican government spending on procurement and government contracts has decreased by 1,300 billion pesos (about $62 billion) in two years, and Some “not transparent enough” trust projects have been cancelled.
López said that despite the huge impact of the economy by the coronavirus epidemic, the Mexican government will not abandon the energy reform led by himself aimed at fostering two state-owned energy giants, the Mexican National Petroleum Corporation (PEMEX) and the Mexican National Electricity Corporation (CFE). He promised that by 2023, Mexico’s own refineries will be able to meet domestic demand, and Mexico will no longer need to import gasoline.
Speaking of the coronavirus epidemic, Lopez said that 130 new hospitals have been built throughout Mexico, and 971 hospitals have been modified to enable them to receive COVID-19 patients. He pointed out that Mexico has now restored more than 550,000 jobs.
Thanks to the efforts of the government, the exchange rate of the Mexican peso against the US dollar did not plummet during the epidemic.
López pointed out that the survey showed that 71% of Mexicans wanted the current government to remain in power. They “have never and will not” let the people down.
However, compared with the high score given by the president for his two years of political achievements, domestic public opinion in Mexico is increasingly dissatisfied with the government’s actions in the epidemic, economy, diplomacy and other aspects. A recent poll released by two independent research institutions showed that Lopez’s approval rating fell to 45%, while the proportion of opponents rose to 47%. In December last year, his approval rating was as high as 57%, while his opposition rating was only 38%. As the leader of the country with the fourth highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the world, the strategy adopted by the López government in combating the epidemic and restoring the economy is obviously not satisfactory enough.
On 30 November, just two years before López served as president, WHO Director General Tedros Tedros said the outbreak in Mexico was “very worrying”. He said that the data showed that Mexico was currently in a bad situation.
He implored Mexico to take the epidemic prevention and control work “seriously” and hoped that leaders of the world would “lead by an example”. On the same day, Michael Ryan, head of the WHO emergency project, also said that the epidemic situation in Mexico was “very serious”, and he called on leaders to lead by example on wearing masks. Obviously, Lopez, who doesn’t like to wear masks, is not a good example in the global war of “fighting against the epidemic”.
