1. Metro Line 12 collapses in Mexican capital

On Monday night, a convoy collapsed on Line 12 of Mexico City’s metro after a failure of the railway structure. Through Friday morning, the accident has left 25 people dead and more than 70 people injured. Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City’s mayor, indicated that Norwegian company DNV, will refer to external experts in order to clarify the causes of the collapse.

Meanwhile, Morena and Partido del Trabajo (PT) legislators rejected the creation of the “Special Plural Commission to Follow-up on the Investigations of the Accident that occurred on Line 12 of the Mexico City Subway,” as well as the appearance of the current Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, who during his administration as mayor of the Mexican capital, supervised the works and inaugurated the infrastructure.

El Financiero: Esto es lo que sabemos sobre colapso en la Línea 12 del Metro.
Milenio: Empresa DNV realiza peritaje externo de accidente en Línea 12 del Metro de CdMx.
Infobae: Morena rechazó la creación de la comisión especial de la Línea 12 del Metro

2. Gradual economic recovery projected for Mexico

As a result of the solid economic recovery in the United States, Moody’s upgraded its growth forecast for Mexico to 5.6% for this year. However, the rating agency pointed out that domestic demand will remain weak due to the persistence of low investment in the country and a decrease in the labor market, which will impact consumption rates.

For its part, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) indicated that during the first quarter of the year, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.4% compared to the previous quarter. However, the institute highlighted that this is a setback since, compared to the same period in 2020, the GDP registered a 2.9% decline.

Expansión: La deuda y el “marco político” son riesgos para México en 2021.
Milenio: PIB creció 0.4% en primer trimestre de 2021

3. President López Obrador violates moratorium on discussing elections

Despite electoral authorities’ insistence on respecting the ban on discussing elections by elected officials, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denounced the alleged delivery of economic support cards by opposition candidate Adrián de la Garza, a candidate for the governorship of Nuevo León, pointing out that the National Electoral Institute (INE) has ignored to take measures against the candidate.

Likewise, Santiago Nieto, head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, indicated that the president asked him not to file complaints during the campaign months in order to avoid them being viewed as reprisals in the electoral framework. On the other hand, the Audit Commission of the National Electoral Institute (INE) prepared a project in which it proposes to withdraw Morena’s candidacy in San Luis Potosí due to the lack of expense reports during the pre-campaign stage.

El Universal: En veda electoral, AMLO exhibe en la mañanera tarjetas de Adrián de la Garza.
El Economista: AMLO pide a UIF parar denuncias.
Animal Político: INE perfila tumbar otra candidatura de Morena a una gubernatura, ahora en San Luis Potosí.

4. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador holds virtual meeting with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador held a virtual meeting with the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, in order to address the issue of migration between both countries, as well as within the framework of the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador). The leaders stressed the importance of a partnership, as well as the need to join efforts to work on economic recovery following the COVID-19 health crisis.

The leaders pledged to create a joint initiative to leverage expertise and resources to address the region’s diverse challenges, such as lack of employment, limited market access, as well as deforestation and regional instability caused by climate change. They also indicated that they would continue to work to combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking.

CNN: Kamala Harris habla sobre migración con el presidente de México, Andrés Manuel Obrador.
The White House: Statement From Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson Symone Sanders on Vice President Kamala Harris’s Virtual Bilateral Meeting with President Andres Manuel López Obrador of Mexico

5. Prices jump in Mexico’s energy sector

According to the most recent data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Mexico has the third highest energy inflation among the organization’s 38 member countries, reaching an annual price variation of 14.5% during the month of March. The OECD indicated that this volatility in costs was mainly due to the drop in the consumption of fuels such as gasoline during the sanitary contingency.

On the other hand, the Board of Directors of Petróleos de México (Pemex) acknowledged that the construction of the Dos Bocas refinery is behind schedule, for which reason it expects to readjust the total investment cost, as well as the refinery’s start-up time. According to estimates, the construction of the refinery could cost USD $12.4 billion dollars, which is USD $3.5 billion dollars more than originally planned.

El Economista: Inflación de energéticos en México, de las más altas de la OCDE.
El Universal: Refinería Dos Bocas se rezaga y encarece