/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-infobae.s3.amazonaws.com/public/UK2ABDP6BRDX3IKWWWX2QOKZOQ.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
The investigation of the newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) addresses the business of the Mexican businessman, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, following the allegations made about the management of the health contingency due to coronavirus in the main TV Azteca newscast.
– –
In this journalistic piece, it is mentioned that despite the increase in confirmed cases and deaths from coronavirus in Mexico, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, businessman who controls retail, banking, transmission, etc. businesses, with an approximate value of more than ten billion dollars, publicly defies health recommendations destined to combat the advance of COVID-19 in Mexico.
– –
According to the publication, Salinas Pliego has been forced to temporarily close the retail chains it owns; However, Elektra, the entrepreneur’s home appliance business, has remained open. Likewise, despite the recommendations of the health authorities, many of the 100,000 employees of Salinas Group and its subsidiaries still continue to work in corporate offices despite concerns about the health of their relatives, according to workers within the company.
– –
And it is that, last Friday, the main nightly newscast of the Salinas Pliego television station, the second largest in the country, He criticized the data on coronaviruses issued every night by Hugo López-Gatell, undersecretary of Health Prevention and Promotion and who is the main spokesman in charge of the government’s response to the pandemic. The news presenter, Javier Alatorre, said live: “Don’t pay attention to Hugo López-Gatell“
– –
Derived from this, the WSJ pointed out, the attack caused a reprimand from the government because “showed signs of an emerging division between President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Salinas Pliego, who has been one of the biggest supporters of the president of a private sector who generally distrusts the populist nationalist. ”
– –
Also, the newspaper highlighted that: “the López Obrador administration has awarded several lucrative government contracts to Salinas Pliego companies and the president appointed the businessman to his private sector advisory committee. ”
– –
Also, according to the American newspaper, This confrontation also emphasizes the power exercised by the multimillion-dollar class in Mexico, especially those who own the media, as is the main beneficiary of Grupo Salinas. Facing what was broadcast by Televisión Azteca, the government said it would open an administrative procedure to determine if the television station had broken any law.
– –
About, The Wall Street Journal recounted the conflict, in which Mention is made of the response that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador gave about the disqualifications to the Undersecretary of Health. “My friend Javier Alatorre made a mistake last night when he called people not to pay attention to Dr. Hugo López-Gatell ”.
– –
In addition to this, in the article public calls made by Salinas Pliego are addressed so that the government lifts social distancing measures in order not to harm the economy. The Mexican businessman pointed out in a meeting with senior executives that “the way things are, we are not going to die of coronavirus, we are going to starve.”
– –
The text is particularly striking, since, according to said research, other large Mexican conglomerates, such as the case of Grupo Carso by Carlos Slimhave imposed strict regulations in their businesses. For example, Sanborns, this retail chain is mostly closed, with the exception of its pharmacy section and the takeaways of its restaurants, in addition, almost all of its corporate employees work from home, according to the recommendations of the Health Secretary.
– –
Furthermore, the article also mentions that the offices of Televisa Group, which is positioned as the main competitor of Aztec TV, they find each other almost closed, and as Ana Paula Ordorica told the American newspaper, the facilities appear to be a “ghost town”.
– –
The Wall Street Journal also noted that A senior executive at Grupo Salinas said the businessman had created a climate of anxiety and fear in his business. by forcing its workers to report to its facilities. “They do not allow the home office, and if one day is lost, they take away your salary,” said the executive. “People are afraid because if they don’t obey or don’t go to work, they will lose their jobs,” he said.
– –
However, according to Carlos Bravo Regidor, a journalism professor and political analyst at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE), critical attacks by TV Azteca on the handling of COVID-19 by the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, indicate that Salinas Pliego is “trying to push (López Obrador) more in the direction he was initially heading, to minimize the pandemic”
– –
