Students urged to use educational platforms
All schools in Jalisco are likely to stay closed until May 30 but state education authorities hope public school students will continue learning remotely through state-sponsored platforms such as Recrea Digital and PLAi, as well as via programs transmitted on the Canal 11 and Jalisco TV television stations.
Education Department Secretary Juan Carlos Flores Miramontes recognizes there is a chance that schools could remain closed until the conclusion of the annual cycle, on July 7. However, he said his agency will work to ensure that students don’t fall behind academically, and denied that anyone will have to repeat the school year because of the health crisis. The Education Department is also looking at ways of distributing guides to students without internet access. To see the options available on Recrea Digital, go to http://plataformaeducativa.se.jalisco.gob.mx.
Night patrols salute health care workers
Firefighters, police, Civil Protection, health workers and other government employees have been joining forces to take part in nightly “patrols,” using loudspeakers to advise residents of the Guadalajara metropolitan area to stay at home. More than 450 employees from various agencies are participating in the measure. On April 14, 30 vehicles were dispatched and at one point all sounded their “emergency” sirens in unison in support of the nation’s doctors, nurses and health care workers. The salute was replicated in other states of Mexico.
Seafood market woes
Hundreds of shoppers ignored physical distancing directives at Guadalajara’s seafood market (Mercado del Mar) on Good Friday – traditionally the busiest day of the year at the market. Governor Enrique Alfaro and the mayors of Zapopan and Guadalajara all expressed their frustration at Tapatios’ blatant disregard for local and federal guidelines designed to stop the spread of Covid-19. Earlier in the day, Zapopan city hall slapped the market’s administrators with a fine for failing to put in place obligatory hygiene precautions on Maunday Thursday, when large numbers of people also flocked to the seafood market.
Mexico’s March job losses hit 25-year high
The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) has reported that net job losses in the formal economy in March totaled 130,500, the highest monthly figure since 1995, when the economy was reeling from a massive peso devaluation. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has stated that he intends to create two million jobs in the nine months that follow the end of the coronavirus shutdown. He has not explained how this might be possible.
El Chapo’s daughter helps relief effort
A video has been posted on YouTube showing Alejandrina Guzmán, the daughter of jailed drug capo Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, packing food parcels together with other women for distribution to needy seniors in the Guadalajara metropolitan area. A male voice over explains that the “Chapo despensas” are just “a grain in the sand” in the Covid-19 relief effort. Other videos showing despensas being distributed by drug cartels have also been posted online.