1. President López Obrador heads his first Independence Day military parade

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador led his first military parade on September 16th, in commemoration of the 209th anniversary of Mexican independence.

During the flag-raising, the president was accompanied by the Secretaries of Defense and the Navy, Luis Cresencio Sandoval and José Rafael Ojeda; Supreme Court President Arturo Zaldívar, Security and Citizen Protection Secretary Alfonso Durazo, and legislative presidents Mónica Fernández of the Senate and Laura Rojas of the Chamber of Deputies.

Televisa News: Andrés Manuel López Obrador encabeza su primer desfile militar del 16 de septiembre

2. President López Obrador sends amnesty bill to legislature

President López Obrador sent a bill to the Chamber of Deputies that aims to exonerate women imprisoned for the crime of abortion, youth linked to crimes against health, indigenous people who without proper legal defense and political prisoners.

Deputy Mario Delgado, president of the Political Coordination Board of the Chamber of Deputies, explained that the proposed Amnesty Law will take into consideration repeated criminal behavior and will not be applied for homicide, injury, kidnapping or other serious crimes.

El Economista: Andrés Manuel López Obrador envía proyecto de Ley de Amnistía

3. Secondary laws regarding education approved

The Chamber of Deputies approved in general and particular terms, three secondary laws regarding education, including a reform to the General Law of Education, the Regulatory Law of the 3rd article and the General Law of the System for the Career of Teachers and Teachers.

The new legislation considers, among other items, direct access to teaching posts by normal school graduates; allocation of teaching positions on the part of labor unions and the elimination of diagnostic evaluation tests. Opposition leaders warned that it will seek to overturn these laws using a legal tool called the “resource of unconstitutionality.”

El Financiero: Se aprueban Leyes Secundarias en materia educativa

4. Earthquake reconstruction continues after two years

At a press conference, President López Obrador, Secretary of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development, Román Meyer Falcón, Secretary of Finance Arturo Herrera, and reconstruction manager David Cervantes, reported on the progress of reconstruction two years after major earthquakes struck the country on September 7th and 19th, 2017.

The Mexican President assured that there is no budgetary limitation for reconstruction and estimates that all works will be concluded by 2020. Falcón added that several irregularities have been found in the reconstruction process, inherited from the past government, promising to report on the complaints filed to the Attorney General’s Office.

Expansión: Avanza reconstrucción a 2 años de los sismos

5. Gasoline prices will not increase: Ministry of Finance and Public Credit

The Minister of Finance and Public Credit Arturo Herrera, said that, despite the attacks on oil-producing plants in Saudi Arabia, gasoline prices will not increase in Mexico.

Arturo Herrera reported that oil and gasoline prices rose worldwide, but the commitment of the Ministry is to maintain the stimulus of the Special Tax on Production and Service (IEPS), which makes it so that volatility in international prices is not reflected in domestic prices. The head of the ministry stated that he works in coordination with Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) to prevent fuel prices from increasing in real terms.

Noticieros Televisa: Precios de la gasolina no aumentarán: Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público