Free burials, cremations, oxygen
In a virtual session held this week, the Jalisco State Congress approved the full reimbursement of burial and cremation costs for families who have lost relatives as a result of Covid-19 infection.
In the same session, legislator Erika Pérez García of the Morena Party launched an initiative to provide free oxygen to anyone infected with the virus.
Inapam offices closed
Offices where citizens over age 60 can obtain their Inapam discount cards have been closed until further notice, despite assurances from state authorities they would reopen on January 11. The cards, which are also available to permanent foreign residents, are issued by the Instituto Nacional de las Personas Adultas Mayores, allowing seniors to obtain a range of discounts on goods and services, including supermarket groceries, travel and government taxes. Of special importance for Inapam card holders is the 50-percent discount on annual municipal property taxes (predial).
Ex defense secretary cleared of wrongdoing
Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR) has closed its investigation of the country’s former defense secretary, Salvador Cienfuegos, who was accused by the U.S. Justice Department of accepting bribes from criminal organizations. He was arrested in the United States last year but released and sent home after the Mexican government complained that the DEA had not consulted them at any stage of their investigation.
Vaccines for undocumented workers
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has announced that Mexico will invoke a labor requirement built into the new USMCA (T-MEC) trade treaty to ensure Mexican workers in the United States receive the coronavirus vaccine, irrespective of their immigration status. His intervention came after the governor of Nebraska said undocumented migrants may not get vaccinated, although he subsequently backtracked, saying citizenship would not be checked prior to vaccination.
Medicinal marijuana rules published
After a lengthy delay and more than three years after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of cannabis use, Mexican health authorities published the regulations governing the regulations for the production and medicinal use of marijuana and its pharmaceutical derivatives.