Weekly Report 75

GENERAL SITUATION IN MEXICO

Weekly Review # 75 I October 6, 2021

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MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY 4T ELECTRICITY INITIATIVE IGNORES MEXICO’S USMCA COMMITMENTS The energy counter-reform initiative that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador sent to the Chamber of Deputies would violate Mexico’s international treaties, which, if approved, would provoke international arbitration level disputes.

The United States and Canada established locks so that Mexico would not carry out an energy counter-reform through an article of the trade agreement between the three countries (USMCA) that alludes to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TIPAT). This means that even though the United States is not part of TIPAT, it obtains the full benefits of the explicit shield that this agreement offers so as not to diminish the openness of the Mexican energy sector.

If changes were made that restrict the current openness, Mexico would face retaliation. It would have to compensate for consequential damages, in addition to running the risk that its two trading partners would denounce the USMCA. This treaty has boosted foreign trade and investment in the Mexican economy.

Kennet Smith, chief negotiator of the T-MEC on Mexico’s side in the past administration and a partner in the AGON consultancy, explained that both trade agreements include the so-called “ratchet” clause of irreversibility: if a country proceeds unilaterally with an opening, it is immediately consolidated.

The president of the Mexican Confederation of Employers (Coparmex), Jose Medina Mora, rejected this initiative for being contrary to electricity consumers’ welfare and limiting competitiveness.

“This initiative closes the door to competition, and it is a fact that if approved, in the short term, it will generate shortages, blackouts, and increasingly expensive rates for Mexican families,” warned the employers’ sector.

In order for families to pay less for energy, as in the case of electricity, there must be more competitors and greater supply, and not monopolies that further impoverish those who have less, as proposed in the constitutional reform initiative on the electricity sector presented by President Andrés Manuel López, warned the business sector.

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GOOD NEWS THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMY WILL PROMOTE PRODUCTIVE CHAINS AND SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT.

The Foreign Trade Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy, Luz Maria de la Mora, stated that within the framework of the High-Level Economic Dialogue, the country is working in coordination with the United States on issues such as the repositioning of production chains in sectors such as semiconductors, pharmaceutical products, medicines, automotive products, minerals and also in the aerospace sector.

By the end of 2021, Mexico expects to attract 35 billion dollars in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Over the next three years, the Ministry of Economy (SE) will focus on productive linkages and the development of suppliers to strengthen the country’s economic growth, Luz Maria de la Mora, Undersecretary of Foreign Trade of this federal agency, told El Economista.

“Mexico is an economy linked to the North American market, linked to supply chains. North America is rethinking production chains, we are seeking to integrate more small and medium-sized companies into supply chains, and we are benefiting from the rethinking of some investments coming from Asia to North America and Mexico,” she said.

She indicated that within the framework of the High-Level Economic Dialogue, Mexico is coordinating with the United States on issues such as the repositioning of production chains in sectors such as semiconductors, pharmaceutical products, medicines, automotive products, minerals, and also the aerospace sector.

“We have seen that the work we can do with the United States within the framework of the High-Level

SOURCE: FORBES

Economic Dialogue with the productive sector and academia will allow us to make Mexico and the region a place where productive chains can be more resilient, more competitive, more effective, more efficient, without isolating ourselves from the world, but rather making value chains where we are less vulnerable, as has been demonstrated in the pandemic,” said De la Mora.

The Undersecretary of Foreign Trade highlighted the “success story” of the agave-tequila chain in the agro-industrial sector as “an exemplary productive chain” that represents more than 2.3 billion dollars in exports and benefits different sectors, from small agave producers, distilleries of all sizes, to marketers and exporters that can become large multinational companies. According to the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT) data, the tequila agro-industry contributes more than 6.5 billion pesos from one tax alone, the IEPS (Special Tax on Production and Services).

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KEY POINTS OF PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR’S Morning Press Conference September 29- October 5, 2021

REFORM IN ELECTRICAL MATTERS The Secretary of the Interior, Adan Augusto Lopez Hernandez, specified that the initiative sent to the Chamber of Deputies last week reforms articles 25, 27, and 28 of the Constitution, in addition to nine transitory ones. The reform has the objective to rescue and strengthen the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and guarantee through the country’s electrical safety and that there is electricity available to all Mexicans at low prices.

The CFE would become a body with a legal personality. In turn, its subsidiaries would disappear, and there would be a single body in charge of the generation, distribution, and administration of the electrical energy produced.

It would be guaranteed that the CFE is in charge of producing and dispatching at least 54% of the energy generated in the country, with the private sector being able to participate up to 46%.

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxEgOKuI-n-WOJaNcisHvSg

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MEASURES TAKEN

BY STATES IN MEXICO

BAJA CALIFORNIA The State of Baja California remains considered as medium-risk or yellow light. Official reports confirmed 1,513 active cases in the last week, with hospital occupancy at 39.61%. The percentage of the population with a complete vaccination scheme is 80.5%.

The vaccination plan continues this week by applying the first dose of Astra Zeneca and the second dose of Pfizer and Sinovac to the adult population in Tijuana, Ensenada, and Mexicali.

SONORA Most of Sonora´s municipalities are considered medium-risk tier or yellow light, two municipalities in the high-risk tier or orange light, and four municipalities out of 72 in the low-risk tier or green light. 159 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours. The vaccination plan continues with the application of the complete vaccination scheme of Astra Zeneca to the adult population in different municipalities, and this week started the registration for vaccination in adolescents from 12 to 17 years old.

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MEASURES TAKEN

BY STATES IN MEXICO

COAHUILA Given the reduction in the indicators of the pandemic due to Covid-19, state authorities reported that Coahuila could go to an epidemiological green traffic light in the coming days. After the last meeting of the Health Subcommittee, the governor, Miguel Angel Riquelme Solis, informed that the positivity rate decreased from 33 to 29 percent.

TAMAULIPAS The Federal Ministry of Health released the covid-19 traffic light color for all entities of the Mexican Republic, which will be in force from October 4 to 17, 2021.

For Tamaulipas, it was determined to be in yellow (medium risk) for the next two weeks.

NUEVO LEON This week, the state administration for the next six years in Nuevo Leon started. The Governor of the State of Nuevo Leon, Samuel Garcia, assigned Alma Rosa Marroquin as Secretary of Health of the new administration and will be the one who will continue with the strategies to counteract the spread of the Covid-19 virus in the state.

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MEASURES TAKEN

BY STATES IN MEXICO

QUERETARO The state delegation of the Welfare Secretariat announced the application of the second dose of vaccines against Covid-19, mainly for people between 30 and 39 years old and 40 to 49 years old in the municipalities of Queretaro, San Juan del Rio, Corregidora, El Marques, Toliman, Pedro Escobedo, Huimilpan and Colon. The National Vaccination Day will continue with the supply of the drug to complete the vaccination schedule from October 4 to 20 in the state capital. On October 4 and 5, the agencies in charge of the application will attend people from 40 to 49 years old and pregnant women over 18 years old.

JALISCO The state of Jalisco received more than 500,000 doses of covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Cansino. This shipment corresponds to the 40th delivery destined for the immunization of the inhabitants of the state of Jalisco. It is scheduled to be destined for the first doses of people from 18 to 29 years of age and thus completes the groups of people over 18 years of age in all the state municipalities. The head of the Jalisco Ministry of Health, Fernando Petersen Aranguren, received the biologicals and announced that they would be destined to 90 municipalities in the state’s interior and six in Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. The Secretary of Health explained that 214,800 doses were received from the AstraZeneca laboratory, 77,220 from Pfizer, and 222,280 from CanSino.

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MEASURES TAKEN

BY STATES IN MEXICO

AGUASCALIENTES With a view to the start of the expected Festival de las Calaveras, at the end of October, which in 2020 did not take place due to the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic, during the last week analyzed, the number of infections and deaths due to the pandemic disease increased and the number of hospitalizations was not reduced. Although in the following tourism event in which the state government has entrusted part of its economic reactivation plan, it is planned to keep prevention measures observed and monitored, with less than a month to go, the trend of hospitalizations, infections, and deaths due to covid-19 does not seem to be decreasing. According to the last technical report issued by the Institute of Health Services of Aguascalientes (Issea), by the 38th week of the year, 579 infections, 143 people hospitalized between serious and very serious only in public hospitals, and 26 new deaths had been registered in the entity. This was after 443 infections, 143 hospitalizations, and 12 deaths had been recorded in the week before the week mentioned above. With the above, it can be observed that both infections and deaths due to covid-19 increased again, and the number of people hospitalized remained the same.

GUANAJUATO The government of Guanajuato is evaluating the possibility of the United States donating vaccines against Covid-19 to advance with the protection of people living in the state after the pharmaceutical companies refused to sell the biological product to authorities outside the federal level. The head of the Secretariat of Migrants and International Liaison of Guanajuato, Juan Hernandez, said that they would establish communication with the governments of Texas and California to study mechanisms that will allow the donation of vaccines. According to the Ministry of Health of Guanajuato (SSG), deaths and infections by covid-19 in the state are down. This Sunday, there were 553 people infected by this disease, taking into account that in previous days, the average was 800 per day. The same happens with the deaths, which were registered only 4 in the whole entity and belonged to two in Irapuato, one in Jerecuaro and two in Guanajuato capital, three of them with comorbidities such as diabetes, obesity, and smoking in a range of 59 to 79 years of age.

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MEASURES TAKEN

BY STATES IN MEXICO

STATE OF MEXICO This October 4th will begin the application of the second dose of vaccines against Covid-19 in 22 municipalities of the State of Mexico for 18 to 29 years old, 30 to 39, and 40 to 49 years old, informed authorities of the Government of Mexico, the State of Mexico and municipalities.

From October 4 to 7, the vaccination scheme against the new virus will be complemented for people from 40 to 49 years old in Tultepec, Melchor Ocampo, Tultitlan, Tecamac, Nextlalpan, Tequixquiac, Apaxco, Huehuetoca, Zumpango, Hueypoxtla, Jaltenco and Tonanitla.

CDMX he head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum, indicated on Monday that because 98 percent of adults in the city had been vaccinated against the coronavirus, a figure that is higher than any other in the world, progress can now be made in economic reactivation.

Concerts and massive events will take place in the last trimester of the year, such as F1 and Corona Capital.

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VACCINATION PROGRESS

Since December 24, 65,345,758 people have been vaccinated, of which 45,464,272 have been fully vaccinated, equivalent to 70 %, and 19,881,486 have received the first dose, representing 30%.

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TOWARDS THE “NEW NORMAL”

DISTRIBUTION OF DEATHS PER STATE DUE TO THE PANDEMIC

INFORMATION UPDATED ON OCTOBER 4, 2021 AT 19:00 HRS LOCAL TIME.

NEW CASES REPORTED: 2,282

SOURCE: https://www.gob.mx/salud/

CONFIRMED CASES: 3,684,242

NEW DEATHS REPORTED: 303

CONFIRMED DEATHS: 279,104

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INCREASE OF CONFIRMED CASES SINCE THE FIRST REPORT MAP WITH THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE INCIDENCE RATE OF ACCUMULATED CASES OF COVID-19 BY ENTITY OF RESIDENCE.

National rate 36.25

0 to 10.0 (2 states)

40.1 to 50 (4 states)

10.1 to 20 (4 states)

50.1 to 60 (1 states)

20.1 to 30 (8 states)

60.1 to 70 (1 states)

30.1 to 40 (8 states)

>70 (4 states)

Elaborated by Prodensa with information from the Health Ministry of Mexico

PANDEMIC’S SITUATION IN THE WORLD • As of October 4, 2021, globally there have been reported 234,809,103 confirmed cases (257,122 new cases) of COVID-19 and 4,800,375 deaths (4,204 new deaths*). Lethal rate: 2%.

• In the last 14 days, the number of new cases accounts for 3% (6,299,667) of the total of accumulated cases.

SOURCE: https://www.gob.mx/salud/

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TOWARDS THE “NEW NORMAL” INCIDENTS OF CONTAGIONS IN THE POPULATION

BY REGION AS OF OCTOBER 4

DEATH INCIDENTS IN POPULATION

BY REGION AS OF OCTOBER 4

SOURCE: https://www.gob.mx/salud/

EHS

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WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR A COVID-19 VACCINE BOOSTER SHOT?

What You Need to Know COVID-19 Vaccine booster shots are available for the following Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients who completed their initial series at least 6 months ago and are: • 65 years and older • Age 18+ who live in long-term care settings • Age 18+ who have underlying medical conditions • Age 18+ who work in high-risk settings • Age 18+ who live in high-risk settings Data Supporting Need for a Booster Shot Studies show that after getting vaccinated against COVID-19, protection against the virus may decrease over time and be less able to protect against the Delta variant. Although COVID-19 vaccination for adults aged 65 years and older remains effective in preventing severe disease, recent data suggest vaccination is less effective at preventing infection or milder illness with symptoms.

Emerging evidence also shows that among healthcare and other frontline workers, vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 infections is decreasing over time. This lower effectiveness is likely due to the combination of decreasing protection as time passes since getting vaccinated (e.g., waning immunity) as well as the greater infectiousness of the Delta variant.

Data from a small clinical trial show that a Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot increased the immune response in trial participants who finished their primary series 6 months earlier. With an increased immune response, people should have improved protection against COVID-19, including the Delta variant.

Booster Shots Are Only Available for Some Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Recipients Only certain populations initially vaccinated with the PfizerBioNTech vaccine can get a booster shot at this time.

DAVID ANTUNEZ Environmental, Health, and Safety Director.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND AND ATTRACT NEW OPPORTUNITIES

YOELLE ROJAS Public Affairs & Communications Director

Personal branding is managing your personal brand, acting, and positioning yourself so that your public or audience clearly understands who you are and what you offer. You must be very clear about “How you want to be remembered” and work on that image to position yourself.

It’s not about self-promotion; it’s about being remembered and transcending. Every. Every time a person thinks of what you want to be remembered for, your image or name will come to their mind.

How can I start managing my personal brand?

• Define your objectives and what you are an expert on.

• Tailor your message to your target audience.

• Develop good storytelling.

• Connect and interact with the audience.

• You must be present on at least one social media.

Does this make me an influencer? No, it makes you a person who generates trust. However, you can influence with what you share or with your knowledge and inspire others.

Is there a difference between popularity and influence?

Popularity is when people like you. Influence is when they stop to hear what you have to say. The goal of personal branding is influence. Trust in our experience in personal branding, and let us guide you on your PR strategy.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

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LABOR

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DIGITAL DISCONNECTION The use of digital platforms has created, worldwide, new ways of managing work. It has created new services and solutions, making new companies and industries emerge alongside new jobs and occupations.

Labor legislations, both in Mexico and around the world, still do not regulate the rights that workers of digital platforms have. Labor laws still do not set provisions regarding these independent or selfemployed individuals or even define if they should be considered workers under the formal work scheme, traditional model, or not.

Although the laws change and criteria are set, we are facing a new work environment and business reality that will continue to create new work and occupation schemes through information technologies.

In Mexico, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) has launched this week a pilot program for the incorporation of independent workers. The IMSS pilot will allow drivers of platforms such as Uber, Rappi, Didi, and Beat to access social security benefits such as workers comp, disability, and life risk insurance, as well as childcare centers and social benefits for them and their families.

ALVARO GARCIA HR, Vice President

The announcement of this program by the IMSS has been the subject of criticism for considering drivers as self-employed and not direct platform workers. Regardless of the final criteria to be regarded as the good news, the new program is a good first step to provide social security coverage to platform workers.

BASIC PROTECTIVE MEASURES AGAINST COVID-19

1 2 3 4 5 Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds.

When coughing or sneezing, cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or use the inside corner of your arm.

Avoid shaking hands and kissing.

Keep your workspace clean and don't share personal items and utensils.

If you show symptoms of a cold or flu, go to a doctor. Do not self-medicate and inform your supervisor and Human Resources department.

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