Governors assemble block against government measures by COVID-19

The governors of seven entities in the country put together a block to design their own sanitary and economic reactivation measures in the face of the COVID-19 emergency.

Administrations of Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, Michoacán, Durango, Jalisco and Colima They said they have reached agreements for a “fiscal reciprocity” on the part of the Federation, since they also seek to compensate for the cuts announced by the Ministry of Finance, due to the epidemic.

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Although they assured that they will promote dialogue with the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the governors Silvano Aureoles, from Michoacán; Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, Nuevo León; Miguel Ángel Riquelme Solís, Coahuila; José Rosas Aispuro, Durango; Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca, from Tamaulipas; José Ignacio Peralta, from Colima, as well as Enrique Ibarra, Jalisco’s government secretary (representing state president Enrique Alfaro), agreed to work on a health, economic reactivation and attention to poverty agenda.

The agenda will be published in each entity on May 16, which will be carried out by working groups: “each led by a Governor and on the axes: construction of a new normality in the midst of a still active epidemic; economic recovery by stages and priorities; priority protection for vulnerable groups; and financial viability of the states, ”they said after holding an interstate COVID-19 meeting.

They also agreed to adopt a “General Protocol on Health and Economic Reactivation”, Where they contemplate a gradual and synchronized reopening of“ sectors with shared value chains, always considering responsibility for the health and life of citizens ”.

As for school activities, they pose not start face-to-face classes during the current school year and finish it from home; “In cases where there are no internet or virtual connectivity conditions, the implementation of some mechanism that allows children not to be in inequality for access to educational content will be sought,” they pointed out.

The governors pointed out that one of the agreements canceled by the federal government for this year and that were in force is that of the National Employment Service.

Read more: 84% of the states do not report their expenses to attend the COVID-19 pandemic

No more cuts: they will demand governors

Another action agreed by the 7 state leaders is to start the “legal route” to request the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), to compensate the expenses transferred by the Federation to entities for the attention of the health emergency, “and the which were not foreseen in their fiscal years for 2020 ”.

“If the federal government were to leave, we would help them to draw the route, but there is no interest, they are doing something else; I believe that we are going to have to meet with the business sector to see how the states make an approach to such dark scenarios, “said Governor Silvano Aureoles.

At the Interstate Meeting # COVID19, held this afternoon in Morelia, the governors of Coahuila, Colima, Durango, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and Michoacán agreed to work on a health, economic recovery and poverty reduction agenda. pic.twitter.com/eeIEaUviMU

– Silvano Aureoles (@Silvano_A) May 15, 2020

Meanwhile, the governor of Tamaulipas, Francisco Javier Cabeza de Vaca, said that they will not ask for “anything that does not correspond to our states. We will not continue to allow the government to affect decisions that affect our states. Do not allow more abuses by the central government, “he insisted.