At her Thursday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum presented a new government website and responded to a credit rating agency’s opinion on a controversial legislative reform.
Among other remarks, she declared that Mexico’s relationship with the United States is “very good.”
Government unveils website tracking the impact and response to floods
Sheinbaum noted that the federal government has created a website where data related to recent flooding in Veracruz, Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro and San Luis Potosí is compiled.
At the top of the website, which the president displayed during her mañanera, appears the heading “Impacts from rain and floods caused by Tropical Disturbance 90-E.”
At 3:30 p.m. Thursday, the website showed that 70 people had died in rain and flooding-related incidents in Veracruz (30 fatalities), Hidalgo (21), Puebla (18) and Querétaro (1).
It also showed that 72 people are missing.
Among the other data on the site is the following:
- 12,350 people are responding to the emergency.
- 30 helicopters are operating 157 air bridges to get supplies to isolated communities.
- 681 heavy machinery units are in use to assist cleanup efforts.
- Donations can be dropped off at 297 collection centers and points
Sheinbaum dismisses Fitch Ratings’ view on Amparo Law reform
A reporter noted that Fitch Ratings has raised concerns about the reform to Mexico’s Amparo Law, which was approved by both houses of Congress this week.
Fitch said on Tuesday that “Mexico’s proposed amendments to the Constitutional Appeal Law (Ley de Amparo) could raise regulatory risk by limiting courts’ ability to suspend administrative acts and narrowing eligibility relief.”
Among other remarks, the rating agency said that “over time,” the Amparo Law reform “may dampen investment, constrain market access and widen spreads for those most exposed to discretionary actions.”
Sheinbaum declared that Fitch is “wrong” in its assessment of the reform’s potential impact.
The president said she would ask her finance minister to explain in “complete detail” that the Amparo Law reform won’t create any problem for investment in Mexico.
“And to all private investors: this reform does not go against investment in any way; on the contrary, it makes the application of justice much more efficient,” she said.
Sheinbaum denies that Mexico’s support for Cuba will affect USMCA review
A reporter noted that a U.S. lawmaker, Congressman Carlos A. Giménez, warned that Mexico’s support for Cuba could affect the review of the USMCA free trade pact, which will take place in 2026.
Between May and August, Mexico sent more than US $3 billion worth of “subsidized fuel” to Cuba, according to a report published this week by the organization Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity.
Sheinbaum, who said that Cuba bought the fuel like any other country, rejected the claim that Mexico’s support for the Caribbean island nation would have an impact on the USMCA review.
“It won’t affect anything,” she said.
“The United States knows that Mexico is an independent, free and sovereign country, and that the decisions we take are sovereign decisions,” Sheinbaum said.
“And the relationship with the United States is very good,” she added.
“… There is no problem,” Sheinbaum said.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Giménez, a Republican Party representative who was born in Cuba, wrote:
“From the U.S. Congress, we denounce the pathetic actions of the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, in giving oxygen to the murderous dictatorship in Cuba. While the renegotiation of the free trade agreement with the U.S. is being considered, how is it possible that Sheinbaum is helping the narco-terrorist dictatorships in the region? If Mexico continues collaborating with Venezuela and Cuba, it will be treated the same as the pariah states it is protecting.”
