AMLO is putting the people of Mexico in grave danger in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the international organization Human Rights Watch accused.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is putting the people of Mexico in serious danger with his “reckless contempt” for providing accurate information about the Covid-19 pandemic, the international organization Human Rights Watch accused.
In a statement, the association indicated that despite the rapid spread of the virus in the country, López Obrador refuses to follow public health advice and does not provide accurate information to the public about the seriousness of the problem.
He stressed that the President has directly contradicted the recommendations of the health authorities, encouraging Mexicans to continue going out in public while sector officials ask them to stay at home.
HRW also emphasized that the Tabasco politician continued to organize demonstrations and attend events across the country, hugging, kissing, and shaking people’s hands, despite recommendations to avoid crowds and close contact.
President López Obrador’s behavior in the face of the Covid-19 crisis is a profoundly dangerous example that threatens the health of Mexicans
José Miguel Vivanco, director for the Americas at Human Rights Watch said.
It has demonstrated a scandalous unwillingness to provide accurate, evidence-based information about the risks of a virus that has already killed thousands of people around the world.
The organization criticized that last Monday, when many state and local governments in Mexico were already beginning to take measures such as closing bars and restaurants, López Obrador published a video on social networks inviting citizens to go out to restaurants to strengthen the economy.
HRW stated that, as a result of the leadership of the President of Mexico, the federal government has slowly taken action or made appropriate recommendations to detect or prevent the spread of the virus.
He indicated that employees of the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INER) have protested the lack of protocols to deal with the coronavirus.
The association regretted that the Mexican President pointed out that some media are taking advantage of Covid-19 to distort and alarm in support of the opposition to his government.
HRW warned that in Mexico there are many people at higher risk for the new coronavirus because it has some of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the world.
He also warned that the majority of Mexicans depend on the country’s public health system, which has less than 2,500 intensive care beds and just over 5,500 ventilators, according to the latest figures provided by the government.
He also explained that migrants detained and along the country’s northern and southern borders face serious risks of infection, as do people in prisons.
“In a time of an unprecedented health pandemic such as Covid-19, leaders must faithfully fulfill their obligation to ensure that people have access to accurate and evidence-based information essential to protect their health,” said Vivanco.
“Failure to do so is not only a violation of the right to health, but will also lead to many preventable deaths.”
Source: eldebate.com.mx, politica.expansion.mx
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