Finally the (economic) reinforcements arrive
In a turn of events that no one saw coming (well, actually everyone expected it after the disaster), the Government of Mexico has decided to remind the citizens of five states, who are still splashing through memories and mud, that it exists. Yes, it has announced the long-awaited – and for some, mythological – date for the delivery of the second financial support. Aimed at families who lost almost everything in Veracruz, Puebla, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí and Querétaro, this aid comes after the October rains decided to remodel the urban and rural landscape without permission.
The news, communicated with the immediacy of the 21st century through a publication on social networks (because the municipal sides are no longer cool), reveals that the amounts will range between 20 thousand and 70 thousand pesos. The final figure, of course, depends on a complex algorithm that evaluates your home’s level of affinity with a pool. Or, in more serious terms, the seriousness of the effects on the assets of each family, as long as they have been counted. A shame for those who were too busy swimming to get on the list.
Reconstruction: An act of faith or a promise?
As if it were a trailer for a movie that we may never see, the government added, almost in passing, that the fascinating stage of reconstruction and relocation is also being prepared. Sounds good, right? It is that magical moment in which rubble becomes hope (hope, for those who don’t buy anglicisms). And let’s not forget the agricultural sector in these five states, because what would we be without our farmers, whose fields are now better suited to growing seaweed than corn? There will also be distribution of resources for them. Promised.
The big question, the one that all those affected ask themselves while drying their photo albums: When will the money arrive?. Put the date on your calendars, preferably a waterproof one: the delivery will begin on November 10. A strategically chosen date so that the victims can, with a little luck, begin to put their lives back together just before the end of the year. All of this, they tell us, with the laudable intention of helping Mexicans return to their “normality.” A normality that, for 82 people, is unfortunately no longer an option.
To round out the action plan (or the wish list, who knows), president Claudia Sheinbaum announced last Friday, October 31 – a date associated with scares, which is not a coincidence – that they will continue to distribute pantries and household goods. Because nothing says “starting over” like a can of tuna and a new pot in the middle of what used to be your living room. A gesture that, without a doubt, is better than a blow to the head, but that makes it clear that the path to full recovery is longer than the line for government support.
Do you know anyone in these affected areas? Share this information on your social networks so that help, or at least the news that it is on the way, reaches everyone. Or, explore more content related to natural disaster management to understand the real challenge these communities face.
