Mexico

February 28, 2020

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1. Mexican government presents strategy to implement Agenda 2030

Secretary of the Interior, Olga Sánchez Cordero, presented the National Strategy for the Implementation of the Agenda 2030 which outlines objectives such as halving the population in poverty, eradicating corruption and eliminating violence against women.

The presentation counted with the attendance of the Head of the Office of the Presidency, Alfonso Romo, who acknowledged that the current government has failed to grow economically.  Romo believes that this lack of economic growth is the main obstacle preventing achievement of the “fourth transformation” of the country’s public sector and the implementation of the Agenda 2030. He affirms that the government will create certainty and investor confidence.

Milenio: “Metas preciosas” de la 4T, solo con crecimiento: Romo

2. Private sector gives nod to elimination of bad outsourcing practices

With outsourcing regulation minimal in Mexico, the Patronal Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) – the Mexican Employer’s Associaion – reiterated its desire to regulate illegal outsourcing regimes without limiting the competitiveness and stability of companies.

In addition, the Federal Superior Auditor presented the 2018 Public Accounts Report, which came to the conclusion that outsourcing practices have contributed to job precarity and have been used by companies to evade labor responsibilities and tax payment. The Mexican Association of Human Capital Companies estimates that at least 54% of outsourcing firms operate illegally.

El Financiero: Coparmex, a favor de eliminar malas prácticas del outsourcing

3. Banxico reduces 2020 growth expectation for Mexico

The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) presented its Quarterly Report for October-December, 2019 in which the growth expectation for Mexico in 2020 is reduced to 1% from an initial estimate of 1.3%, which does not yet include the direct impact that the outbreak of coronavirus could cause to the economy.

Alejandro Díaz de León, Banxico Governor, declared that economic conditions, both internal and external, persist and restrain the expansion of economic activity; not considering the already visible impact of coronavirus on global markets.  Díaz de León called for an improvement of the country’s business conditions to recover investments.

El Universal: Banxico recorta previsión de PIB para este año

4. Hackers reveal Pemex strategic documents and demand compensation

Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and federal authorities refused to pay a USD $4.9 million ransom following a cyberattack on the state-owned company’s systems. The perpetrators of the attack enabled an internet portal that exhibits Pemex’s strategic documents including infrastructure plans, customer and worker data.

Mexican authorities have discreetly handled the cyberattack and reserved the information and details for five years. Other recent cyberattacks on Banxico’s electronic payment platform (SPEI) and the Secretary of the Economy have forced the latter to suspend online paperwork.

Excélsior: Hackers endurecen chantaje a Pemex; suben a la red documentos de la empresa

5. First confirmed case of Coronavirus in Mexico

Health authorities confirmed the first case of Coronavirus in Mexico, a 38 years old person who recently visited northern Italy, the country most affected by this virus outside of Asia.

The Undersecretary of health, Hugo López Gatell, confirmed the case this Friday morning and informed that the patient is isolated in the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INDRE) and is also waiting the results of 3 additional individuals who were in contact with the infected patient at a convention in Bergamo, Italy. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that Mexico is prepared for a possible outbreak and asked the population to remain calm.

Expansión: Coronavirus llega a México: confirman caso en CDMX y revisan positivo en Sinaloa