Small businesses closed
Between 40 and 50 percent of micro and small businesses in Jalisco are closed because of the coronavirus lockdown, according to Coordinador General Estratégico de Crecimiento y Desarrollo Económico, Alejandro Guzmán Larralde.
This translates to around 300,000 enterprises, he said. Guzmán Larralde estimated that between 40,000 and 60,000 people have probably lost their jobs in Jalisco.
Delays trying to escape city
Vehicles backed up for several kilometers as thousands of Tapatios trying to flee the city for the long May Day weekend were held back by health screenings and DUI checks. On both Saturday and Sunday, traffic crawled at a snails pace along Highway 15 leading northwest out of the Guadalajara metropolitan area past the Rancho Contento and Pinar de la Venta subdivisions. With motorists reporting waits of up to two hours to pass by the checkpoints, ambulant vendors grabbed the opportunity to hawk drinks and snacks.
Toys from El Chapo
Employees of the “Chapo 701” fashion label, owned by the daughter of convicted drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, distributed toys with the logo of the firm on Dia del Niño (Children’s Day) April 30. The handouts were made in Guadalajara’s Colonia Jalisco, one of the metropolitan area’s most economically challenged neighborhoods. A representative of the company told a news agency that apart from beginning some joy to marginalized children, the aim was to try and eradicate the “social stigma” attached to Guzman’s name.
Los Pinos opens up
The former Mexico City residence of the president of Mexico, now known as the Complejo Cultural Los Pinos, has been transformed to accommodate medical staff attending to Covid-19 patients. The center will house up to 100 doctors and nurses working in the capital.