Xalapa, one of the 32 Mexican capitals, is known as the Athens of Veracruz for its history, number of museums and its permanent cultural offer. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, the tertiary sector of this city was part of the crisis suffered by the Mexican economy.
By: Yamiri Rodríguez Madrid
Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
In June 2022, a report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) revealed the effects on employment left by the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America during 2021.
The Mexican economy was severely affected and today, with restrictions lifted in most states, its economic recovery is just beginning.
Cinemas, theaters, galleries, museums, restaurants and bars are just beginning to recover.
In Xalapa, today, the challenge is for people to leave without fear
Nataly Perusquia is a producer and cultural manager from Xalape, with many years of experience. In his opinion, the Covid19 also changed the way of making and disseminating culture not only in Veracruz, but throughout Mexico.
“Today the challenge with the public is to show them that they can go out again, return to cultural spaces without constant fear, but with prevention measures of course, to resume public space, cultural life and support productions”, stressed.
Face masks and recovery of the Mexican economy
In 11 of the 32 states of Mexico, the use of face masks has been stopped by official provision.
The Yucatan Health Secretariat (SSY), for example, determined that, since September 26, its use is voluntary, with the exception of hospitals, health centers, medical units and public transportation, where it continues as a mandatory measure.
In addition, the State Epidemiological Traffic Light, which is in green, has ceased to be issued, and the figures on the behavior of Covid-19 will be updated biweekly on the website of the state agency.
During a meeting of the Committee of Experts, made up of Yucatecan specialists in public and private health, and the head of the SSY, Mauricio Sauri Vivas, it was reported that the state currently presents favorable data to take one more step towards total reactivation.
On September 27, the Government of the State of Querétaro, in the central region of the country, also ended the collective measures to prevent Covid19.
The organizational spokesperson, Erick Ventura, reported that the Technical Health Committee made the determination to modify most of the restrictions imposed to respond to the various levels of COVID-19 infections in the entity.
As a result of this, it will now be possible to have 100% capacity in commercial establishments and events, as long as the disease does not show signs of increasing again.
These measures, which officially entered into force at the time of their publication in the Official Newspaper La Sombra de Arteaga, were adopted taking into account the retreat of the disease, reflected in the latest metrics recorded and «thanks to the high sense of community and the responsibility of society and authorities”.
However, the state official called for being very cautious, as he asserted that as long as daily cases continue to appear, it means that the virus is still in our environment, and although it is a boost for the Mexican economy, the virus has not ceased to exist.
For this reason, he invited the population to be aware of the behavior of the disease and measure its mobility, in order to decide when to adopt personal prevention measures again. Such as the use of the face mask, which will now be totally optional.
«This is very good news for everyone, since after a long period of uncertainty, together we are getting ahead of this pandemic,» he concluded.
The size of the face mask is different throughout Mexico
In Sinaloa, Jalisco and Nuevo León, the use of a face mask is optional; while, in Colima, Campeche, Morelos, Guerrero, Nayarit and Baja California, its use is limited only to closed spaces. In the rest of the States it is still used.
Veracruz, still with face masks
Nataly Perusquia, who has a specialty in Community Management, is the founder of the Ophthalmic Children’s Film Festival and has been Director of the Ágora de la Ciudad, brings film productions closer to the communities of Veracruz.
He affirmed that today, the resumption of all cultural activities has not been a coup, but a step-by-step process.
“First, it has been to go looking for public spaces, open spaces, to do open-air cinema shows and then be able to reach the public that was already used to being at home, who was already very used to not living with more people, for what public spaces were the best way to reactivate cultural life ”, he explained.
The occupation in Mexico
The National Occupation and Employment Survey (ENOE), prepared and published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), revealed that, in the second quarter of 2022, the employed population finally increased by 2.2 million people in relation to the second previous quarter, which is why 57.4 million people are currently employed in the country, actively working and contributing to the Mexican economy.
According to the official source, the states with the highest number of employed people are: the state of Mexico with 13.53% of the national total. Mexico City (7.9%), Jalisco (6.92%), and Veracruz (5.81%). In contrast, the states with the lowest number were Colima (0.67%), Campeche (0.75%), Baja California Sur (0.75%), and Nayarit (1.05%).
Regarding the national composition of the employed population, 34.5 million people are men and 22.8 million are women.
Unemployment within the Mexican economy
Regarding the unemployed population within the Mexican economy, the states with the largest number of people in this situation are: State of Mexico with 17.84% of the national total, Mexico City (13.49%), Nuevo León (5.58%) and Veracruz (5.25%) and those with the lowest number correspond to Colima (0.53%), Campeche (0.68%), Baja California (0.63%) and Nayarit (0.80%).
The unemployed population was divided into 1.2 million men in that situation and 767 thousand unemployed women. When comparing with last year, the unemployed population in men fell by 329,539 people and in women it fell by 178,225 people.
With these data, the Observatory of Public Finance and Regional Development (OFP) of the Universidad Veracruzana (UV), in charge of Hilario Barcelata, concluded that the employed population that works in the primary sector was 6.7 million people, which represented 11.7% of the total employed population.
In the secondary sector there were 14.4 million, representing 25.1%; in the tertiary sector there were a total of 35.9 million, which represented 62.5% and in the unspecified sector there were 0.3 million people; that is, 0.7% of the total.
“When compared with the second quarter of 2021, it was observed that the primary sector decreased by 84,148 people (0.6%), the secondary and tertiary had increases of 646,284 (0.2%) and 1,619,607 (0.5%) people respectively and, finally, the unspecified sector remained unchanged”, the economist added about how the Mexican economy has changed.
In the informal occupation -he continued in his analysis-, there were a total of 32 million people (57.7% of the employed population). When compared to the second quarter of 2021, an increase of 985 thousand people (3.2%) was observed.
Also read: Despite the efforts of the Government in Guatemala, the economy and the health system have not yet recovered from the pandemic.
X-ray of the damage to the tertiary sector of the Mexican economy in Veracruz
For the president of the Labor Congress and general secretary of the Revolutionary Workers Confederation in Xalapa, Reyes Soberanis Moreno, service providers are the ones who have suffered the greatest economic impact.
«Here in Veracruz, the tourism sector was the most affected, hotels were closed and all the workers were fired, the workforce was reduced to the maximum, very few jobs remained and there was a severe impact, losing thousands of jobs,» he explained.
He also indicated that the industrial part of the Port of Veracruz -a city located one hundred kilometers from Xalapa-, maintained operations at a low level. but there was also a loss of jobs in all sectors, without quantifying the number of job sources that were lost.
The Mexican economy: the impact on the hotel sector
«I had contact with some hotels, where they fired more than 50 percent of the workers in the workforce, although there were sectors that did not, such as those related to medicine, with packaged food, but the great Most of the companies, in different proportions, were damaged by the health contingency”.
To this are added the statements of the honorary president of the Union of Hotel Entrepreneurs of the Region, Culture and Adventure, Marcos Suárez Domínguez, recalled that during the pandemic 12 hotels closed only in the municipalities of Xalapa and Coatepec.
“Some are in the red and others are selling their properties and others are uncertain whether or not to close the curtains. The situation has been very precarious in terms of accommodation, after the pandemic we had 20 percent occupancy, which is what is actually bankrupting hoteliers,» he explained, citing as an example the closure of the emblematic hotel «El Limón”, which operated for 128 years and as a result of the situation of the Mexican economy.
For her part, the vice president of the Association of Hotels and Motels in Xalapa and the region, Ivonne Quirarte Mora, calculated that the economic effects on the hotel sector during the first half of the pandemic alone were for more than 10 million pesos.
Operating at 15 percent of its capacity -he explained-, was not enough more than for the payment of the payroll of the employees, which forced salary cuts, layoffs, and even closures.
“There are hotels that did not reopen, such as the Hostal Casa de Juanes, the Hotel Mirador, which was a benchmark because it was next to La Fogata Norteña and was a prominent restaurant that even Presidents of the Republic came to” .
The same situation was experienced by the cultural sector, which also showed the affectation of the Mexican economy.
Veracruz, national example in tourism recovery?
Miguel Torruco Marqués, Secretary of Tourism of the federal government, affirmed that Veracruz is a national example of recovery in the matter, since in 2021 the hotels registered 4 million 615 thousand tourists and there were 4 thousand 836 flights with 499 thousand 918 passengers, which means a upward trend of 87, 65 and 85 percent, respectively, in relation to 2019.
An example of this synergy -he said-, is the first Veracruz Tourism Expo «Passion for Tourism», organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (SECTUR), which brought together more than a thousand exhibitors from the six Magical Towns and 36 municipalities with Vocation Tourism of the entity, service providers from Mexico City, Chiapas, Guerrero, Jalisco, Morelos, Nayarit, Puebla, Quintana Roo and Sonora, as well as representatives from Belize, Bolivia, Cuba, El Salvador and Panama.
For his part, Iván Francisco Martínez Olvera, Secretary of Tourism and Culture in the State of Veracruz, affirmed that the joint work between the government and the private initiative has allowed investments of more than 100 million pesos (about 5 million dollars). And an economic income that exceeds 18 billion, tripling what was obtained before the health contingency only in this point of southeastern Mexico.
So far in 2022, he said, the influx of visitors has already exceeded 10 million and five hotels have started operations, thanks to the diversification of the industry with new destinations and anchor products, leaving no one behind. Service quality has been key, positioning Veracruz as the most professionalized state in the country, through 1,757 badges, seals, and accreditations.
“Tourism is growing more strongly; it has been one of the few activities that has generated constant employment. In a joint effort; We have a well-managed sector that will allow us to contribute to a Veracruz that always fills us with pride,” said the state official.
the syndemic
The researcher of the University Program for Development Studies (PUED) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mario Luis Fuentes Alcalá, asserted that the health crisis accelerated the pandemics that existed in the country: inequality, economic backwardness, unemployment, fragmentation of the urban order, etc., but it also made others invisible, such as the accelerated loss of natural capital.
Prior to the health crisis -said the expert-, in the homes, there were enormous conditions of erosion of their economic capacities, the members had to work because the income was not enough, which deteriorated family life and care time.
On the other hand, schools are no longer safe, and today they are enormously violent spaces; not only bullying is recorded, but violence in general. In addition, the public space is aggressive and everyone is immersed in their mobile phone, which transforms face-to-face relationships, he highlighted.
“We are experiencing a number of pandemics: low income, violence, and preventable diseases, for example. A sum of what is called a syndemic and that simultaneously affects individuals and is enhanced by the enormous inequalities that affect us,” he explained.
For the expert, we must learn that the health emergency caused by COVID-19 must allow us to make pandemics visible and account for their synergy; that is, how they interact with each other.
After the above, he described this time as a social emergency, which requires immediate, urgent actions, to assume all the complexity of the territories.
“The great social issue is how to create protection for individuals who are on the move, who accumulate disadvantages and risks; We are in a time of uncertainty and a very unstable life”, he concluded.
State protection in times of crisis
When appearing a few days ago before the Plenary of the Senate of the Republic, the Secretary of Well-being, Ariadna Montiel Reyes, affirmed that the well-being programs cushioned the impact on the Mexican economy and on the social economy in the country’s homes, derived from the pandemic, since that, despite this circumstance, it was possible for family income to grow in rural areas by 3.8 percent.
As an example of the above, he said that the pandas strengthened the popular economy and supported families in the pandemic, especially those headed by women.
«It is a sign of pride that this program is directed primarily at them, because seven out of 10 beneficiaries are women.»
Nataly, as a cultural promoter, sees in art and culture a door to help change realities in Mexico.
“There are municipalities that have never had a cinema. We do not promote commercial cinema, but we promote Veracruz cinema. It is a way of helping to reinforce the identity between us and that is why we look for local themes. The Covid is a watershed. Perhaps some cultural unions do not have the same opinion, but for film production it is very favorable to move to virtuality, to digital media; it expanded the possibilities”, he opined.
What’s next for Mexico?
The rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Enrique Graue Wiechers, assured that the years of the pandemic have been very difficult and stressed that an epic effort was made from there to help address the health emergency, from the areas of research, as well as to maintain teaching activities for 370 thousand students.
State protection in times of crisis
When appearing a few days ago before the Plenary of the Senate of the Republic, the Secretary of Well-being, Ariadna Montiel Reyes, affirmed that the well-being programs cushioned the impact on the Mexican economy and on the social economy in the country’s homes , derived from the pandemic, since that, despite this circumstance, it was possible for family income to grow in rural areas by 3.8 percent.
As an example of the above, he said that the pandas strengthened the popular economy and supported families in the pandemic, especially those headed by women.
«It is a sign of pride that this program is directed primarily at them, because seven out of 10 beneficiaries are women.»
Nataly, as a cultural promoter, sees in art and culture a door to help change realities in Mexico.
“There are municipalities that have never had a cinema. We do not promote commercial cinema, but we promote Veracruz cinema. It is a way of helping to reinforce the identity between us and that is why we look for local themes. The Covid is a watershed. Perhaps some cultural unions do not have the same opinion, but for film production it is very favorable to move to virtuality, to digital media; it expanded the possibilities”, he opined.
What’s next for Mexico?
The rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Enrique Graue Wiechers, assured that the years of the pandemic have been very difficult and stressed that an epic effort was made from there to help address the health emergency, from the areas of research , as well as to maintain teaching activities for 370 thousand students.
Another challenge was posed by the head of the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) in Mexico, Leticia Ramírez Amaya: the recovery of the system after overcoming the Covid19 pandemic. In this sense, the state official indicated that after the pandemic, 99 percent of the school enrollment of the previous cycle has been recovered, work carried out jointly with state governments.
«Many times students do not attend school because they changed their location,» he justified.
But Senator Guadalupe Saldaña Cisneros revealed that around 5.2 million students of all educational levels stopped enrolling in the 2020-21 cycle, due to Covid19, and stated that the issue of mental health in minors has not been addressed after the coronavirus.
In the Mexican economy
While the premises are rented again for businesses, restaurants and others; while movie theaters and theaters begin to fill with spectators, those who work in the tertiary sector of the Mexican economy, like Nataly, will continue their tireless work in favor of art and culture.
«When we are in the municipality and we put the screen in the park of any city, it fills up,» says Nataly.
