1. Government announces a new universal health plan

The federal government announced a new comprehensive care plan for 50 million inhabitants without social security, based on an investment of MXN $200 billion. The program will bring the management of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) under state management. Colima, Tlaxcala and Nayarit will be the first states to hand over their health schemes to the federation.

The design of this program considered the continuity of medical care services, voluntary state association, as well as the free assignment of workers under a census of 4,747 units in 13 states. This restructuring foresees that more health institutes will join this new model of care with 8 medical specialties by 2024. The plan will start in Nayarit on April 1st.

La Jornada: Presenta AMLO plan de salud universal y gratuito.

2. Proposal to strengthen the Mexico, Brazil, Argentina axis

After a letter sent by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to the President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, the Argentine president proposed strengthening the Mexico-Brazil-Argentina (MBA) axis based on a democratic and economic project. The President of Mexico affirmed that apart from the regional alliance he will seek to integrate the American continent, through commercial channels.

The proposed phase for the coordinated continental relationship is framed in the migratory regularization from Mexico and the Central American Northern Triangle, the management of natural resources, and technological advances as determining factors for the future. In early June, the IX Summit of the Americas will be held in Los Angeles, California, which will bring together the leaders of North, South, and Central America.

Reforma:  Proponen a AMLO eje México, Brasil, Argentina.
El Financiero: AMLO ve más allá de la alianza propuesta por Alberto Fernández; busca integración continental.

3. Mexico away from 2020 growth levels

Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reveal that Mexico is in the last place of economic recovery that it had prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Goldman Sachs estimated that in 2022 Mexico’s GDP would grow only 1.4% due to the rise in fuel prices, a weakening of business and consumer confidence, and regional economic weakness.

On the other hand, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) determined that, in February 2022, the global food price index stood at 140.7 points, which will affect the economic growth of several countries including Mexico. In this context, the Bank of Mexico is expected to raise the reference interest rate to 7.75% by the end of the year.

El Financiero: Guerra en Ucrania le ‘pega’ a México: Goldman Sachs reduce estimación del PIB a 1.4%

4. The new airport and the air safety rating

In the 2022 Federation Expenditure Budget report, the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) received an additional MXN$11,450 million, for which the distributed expense would reach MXN$115,981.98 million, with a cost overrun of 36%. compared to the original amount. However, the AIFA will be inaugurated on March 21st and some of the airlines that will begin operations will be Aeroméxico, Volaris, Viva Aerobús and the Venezuelan Conviasa.

At the same time, the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) anticipates that, next June, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will return Mexico to category 1 after 14 months in category 2; this new qualification will be framed with new routes for the airport. The AIFA will operate at its maximum capacity until 2052, for more than 90 million users annually.

El Universal: El Aeropuerto Felipe Ángeles acaba por costar 116 mil mdp.
El Sol de México: Estos son los destinos y horarios confirmados que saldrán desde el AIFA.

5. The security agenda between Mexico and the United States

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs (SRE), Marcelo Ebrard, and the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), Rosa Icela Rodríguez, held a meeting with the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, in which they discussed the progress of cooperation programs for development, customs operations, migratory flow and cross-border security in both northern and southern Mexico.

The visit comes after clashes between Mexican cartels and elements of the national armed forces which forced the closure of international bridges from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas to the United States, an increase in the record migratory flow to the United States, whose Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detected more than 1.7 million undocumented immigrants at the border in 2021, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has caused dozens of citizens of these countries to request asylum from the border.

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Canciller de México recibe a Mayorkas en visita sobre migración y fronteras.