MEXICO CITY—Many Latin American countries are announcing hefty support packages to keep businesses afloat during the economic downturn from the coronavirus. But Mexico’s nationalist leader is giving the private sector the cold shoulder, leading to growing friction between the government and business in the U.S.’s largest trading partner.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has ruled out tax breaks or other kinds of help for businesses, saying those policies amount to a handout to the rich.
It seems the president has not dimensioned the approaching health and economic problem, that the consequences can be serious, and by denying fiscal stimuli to MSMEs, thousands of jobs in the country are put at risk.
Experts considered that this was a good opportunity for Lopez Obrador to announce the support measures, given the negative impacts that are already being experienced in the national economy due to the stoppage of non-essential activities, but “the message he sent was just disappointing.”
However, despite the lack of support from the government, the Mexican business sector will remain determined to try to keep jobs, wages and revive the economy.
The Mazatlan Post with information from WSJ
