President Sheinbaum has suspended school activities and ordered mandatory home office (teleworking) for the public sector in Mexico City for June 30.

The Mexican national soccer team plays a Round of 32 World Cup match at Mexico City Stadium (Estadio Azteca) on that Tuesday against a third-place finisher still undetermined on Friday morning. The president’s decree is intended to alleviate traffic, enhance mobility and improve road safety ahead of that all-important game.

In a social media post published on Friday, Sheinbaum’s legal counsel Luisa Alcalde explained that the decree instructs “agencies and entities of the Federal Public Administration … to grant the necessary facilities in all non-essential administrative activities in order to implement telework schemes.”

The message also urges the private and social sectors with workplaces located in Mexico City to do the same, while encouraging them to provide the necessary facilities to their employees for this purpose.

The decree also states that “classes are suspended at all educational levels in public and private schools.” This applies to preschool, primary, secondary and normal schools in Mexico City, as well as upper secondary and higher education institutions in the capital that are dependent on the Education Ministry.

Alcalde made clear that all essential workers in health care, security, civil protection, disaster relief and tournament operations will be required to be on-site.

The exemption from the home office mandate also extends to the provision of services such as land, rail, sea and air transport, telecommunications, electricity and energy supply, drinking water and sanitation. 

The decree states that all “agencies and entities of the federal government must prioritize the use of information and communication technologies that guarantee the proper performance of substantive and administrative functions, ensuring at all times the continuity of services, the fulfillment of duties and attention to the public.”

Sheinbaum issued a similar decree ahead of the June 11 inaugural World Cup match, which also took place at Estadio Azteca in southern Mexico City, as well as for the June 24 match between Mexico and Czechia at the same stadium.

Likewise, the president ordered federal government agencies to implement remote work schemes in Mexico City and the Guadalajara metropolitan area on June 18 when El Tri played South Korea at Estadio Guadalajara.

Although the government has emphasized that for the private sector the decree is not obligatory but only a recommendation, the home office concept has been adopted by some companies for the World Cup. A KPMG survey found that 18% of companies are offering remote work so their employees can follow El Tri during the tournament. 

With reports from El Universal, Sopitas, El Economista and La Jornada