The governor of Jalisco and many social media users have a very different perception about the success of coronavirus restrictions in the state capital.

Governor Enrique Alfaro posted photos to his Twitter and Facebook accounts on Monday that purportedly show an empty street in Guadalajara on Saturday and the city’s central square devoid of people on the same day.

The images were juxtaposed with photos of packed streets in Mexico City over the Halloween/Day of the Dead weekend.

“In the country’s two main cities, on a high-risk weekend when the virus is gaining momentum in all of Mexico, this is the difference between taking difficult decisions to do things well, even though there are political costs, and doing nothing,” Alfaro wrote above the contrasting images.

“… We’re continuing to set the national example. It’s worth doing the right thing in order to take care of ourselves, cut the chain of infections and save lives.”

His online remarks came three days after his government implemented stricter coronavirus restrictions in Jalisco due to an increase in new case numbers.

Some social media users were quick to rebut the governor’s claim that the new rules were having the desired effect.

Twitter user @israelijacoboj tweeted a photo to Alfaro showing the crowded platform of a Guadalajara subway station.

“An hour ago, while your community manager was managing your social media, this was happening in central Guadalajara,” he wrote above the image.

On Facebook, where Alfaro’s post attracted more than 8,000 comments, one woman posted a picture of a crowded train with the message, “This is real life. Welcome!”

Crowded subway scenes were shown in many photos posted to both Facebook and Twitter, while a smaller number of images showing busy Guadalajara streets were also posted online in response to the governor’s posts.

Pithy remarks accompanied many of the photos sent to Alfaro. Among them: “The Jalisco you don’t know,” “You forgot to post this image,” “Don’t be a liar” and  “Your strategy is a failure.”

Jalisco, Mexico’s fourth most populous state, currently ranks eighth among the 32 states for total coronavirus cases and fifth for Covid-19 deaths.

As of Monday, the state had recorded 34,797 confirmed cases and 4,096 Covid-related deaths, according to federal data.

Source: El Universal (sp)