1. Ministry of Finance and Public Credit seeks to maintain healthy finances during 2021

The Undersecretary of Finance and Public Credit, Gabriel Yorio, reported that the government will maintain its policy of not increasing taxes or acquiring debt during 2021 and that, for next year’s economic package, only data regarding inflation were updated. 
 
Moreover, the Mexican tax agency (SAT) reported that in the first half of 2020 it achieved record cash receipts from large taxpayers with a growth of over 200 percent over the same period last year.

El Heraldo de México: Hacienda: 2021 va sin nuevos impuestos

2. GDP decreases and job losses increase due to COVID-19 pandemic

According to the Global Index of Economic Activity in Mexico, from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), economic activity in the country registered a historic fall during the second quarter of 20% – a direct consequence of the health crisis. According to the report, the most affected sectors have been the industrial and tertiary sectors.
 
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimated that poverty in Mexico will increase by 7.6%, reaching 49.5 million people by the end of this year. In the same vein, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) reported that about 1,208,000 jobs have been lost during the health contingency.

El Financiero: Estiman que el PIB caerá 20% en segundo trimestre del 2020

3. Lozoya case will not affect contracts awarded during oil rounds: AMLO

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called for calm and clarified that the contracts granted during the PEMEX oil rounds will not be affected by the judicial process of Emilio Lozoya, former director of the state-owned oil company.
 
So far, Emilio Lozoya has managed to avoid pre-trial detention for the Agro Nitrogenados and Odebrecht case, however, hearings with the prosecutor’s office will continue in order to clarify the alleged cases of corruption that occurred in the framework of the approval of the energy reform.

La Jornada: Por el momento se respetarán los contratos firmados tras la reforma energética: AMLO

4. Direct purchase of medications approved in extraordinary legislative session

As part of the points discussed during the extraordinary session held by the Chamber of Deputies, Congress approved a reform to the law that allows for the foreign purchase of medications.
 
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador indicated that an agreement will be signed with the United Nations (UN) for the purchase of internationally regulated medications, with the goal of acquiring quality medications and eliminating the pharmaceutical monopoly that exists in Mexico.

Milenio: AMLO celebra aprobación de reforma para comprar medicinas en el extranjero

5. Social issues discussed across local and national governments

The government of Mexico City announced the criminalization of sexual conversion therapies, which can incur penalties of up to five years in prison. This crime is considered for those who provide these therapies, as well as those who force a third party to take them.
 
On the other hand, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation rejected, with four votes against and one in favor, the decriminalization of abortion in Veracruz. The matter was returned to another minister, who will have to prepare a new project to be discussed. The ministers indicated that the their vote has no relation to their position on the issue.

Milenio: A partir de mañana, terapias de conversión sexual serán delito en CDMX | Sin debatir el fondo, Corte devuelve proyecto de despenalización del aborto en Veracruz