After Delay, Mexico Finally Declares Covid-19 Emergency

FEATURING LAURA CARLSEN – Mexico has finally declared a national emergency over the coronavirus pandemic this week after the World Health Organization says that confirmed cases of infection surpassed 1,000. Still the country has far fewer confirmed cases than the US and has only recently begun implementing social distancing measures and advising people to limit contact with one another.

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, as of mid-March was ignoring the dangers of the Covid-19 virus, saying instead that he would rely on “good luck” charms to keep himself safe. He has also come under intense criticism for ignoring his own government’s recommendations this past Saturday and traveling to Sinaloa to meet with the mother of the notorious drug lord El Chapo.

Laura Carlsen, Director of the Americas Program of the Center for International Policy, a columnist for Foreign Policy In Focus, based in Mexico City.