A 2022 mining tragedy and Spanish bank Santander’s commitment to invest over US $2 billion in Mexico were among the issues President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about at her Tuesday press conference, or mañanera as her morning presser is colloquially known.
Tuesday marked exactly 20 weeks, or 140 days, since Sheinbaum was sworn in as Mexico’s first female president.
Here is a recap of her Tuesday morning press conference.
Body recovery operation concludes at Coahuila coal mine
Sheinbaum acknowledged that the operation to recover the remains of 10 miners who perished in 2022 in the flooded El Pinabete mine in the municipality of Sabinas, Coahuila, has concluded.
“Water entered the mine and 10 miners lost their lives. The bodies of the 10 miners have now been recovered,” she said.
“I understand that the final remains were already identified and given to the family [of the victim],” Sheinbaum said.
“With this, the El Pinabete episode would conclude,” she said before noting that a memorial still needs to be built and support for the families will continue.
Sheinbaum said that the body recovery operation required “very meticulous work because a very large excavation [of the mine] was done.”
She said that the Federal Electricity Commission will determine “what we’ll do with this open mine,” which was closed after the 2022 tragedy.
A ‘very good meeting’ with Santander chair precedes US $2 billion investment announcement
Sheinbaum said she had a “very good meeting” on Monday with Ana Botín, executive chair of Spanish bank and financial services company Santander.
“She will announce various investments [in Mexico] today,” she said.
Later on Tuesday, Botín announced that Santander would invest more than US $2 billion (42 billion pesos) in Mexico over the next three years (Read Mexico News Daily’s full report here).
Sheinbaum said in a social media post on Monday that Santander’s planned investment in Mexico demonstrates “there is confidence in the country.”
Sheinbaum endorses ‘La Chilanguera,’ a CDMX version of la mañanera
A reporter asked the president her opinion of “La Chilanguera,” a press conference that Mexico City Morena party lawmakers have begun holding on Sundays.
Sheinbaum said she was unaware of the press conference, whose name riffs on both mañanera and chilango, the latter being one of the nicknames for Mexico City residents.
After the reporter explained that Morena deputies speak about Mexico City issues and debunk “disinformation” at the chilangueras, the president was quick to endorse the press conferences.
“Well, that’s good, may they continue,” Sheinbaum said.
“… It’s very important to refute fake news, which isn’t just on social media … but also in well-known national and international media outlets,” said the president, who, like her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has disputed the veracity of reports published by prominent newspapers.
“It’s extremely important to speak about fake news and real information,” said Sheinbaum, who, like AMLO did, holds a weekly “lie detector” segment to debunk alleged misinformation published on social media or by traditional media.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
