Tue, Mar 31, 2020
Read in 3 minutes
Monterrey Hub, Mexico
This is the third week that Covid-19 has officially hit Mexico, it has been a strange passing of days, sometimes frustrating, sometimes hopeful and sometimes just plainly impossible to understand. As a general feeling in Mexico, our national Governments seems to be the last institution to take the emergency seriously, our President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s approval rates drop by the day and every morning news headlines just brings us a new random way he is taken for granted all the advisable measures that the country needs to be taking to prevent a spike in infection.
That’s more or less the context, compared to the rest of the world, we’re not 100% quarantined, not following social distancing measures and not preparing for the economic and social impact this situation will bring. Perhaps compared to what we see is happening in Europe or in the Stated this is a sad comparative, if one thing is clearer as days pass along is that if we survive this (not only in health terms but also in economic terms) it will be in spite of the current Government. However, the incredible reaction to what we see in the country, and in contrast to the lack of measures we need from the official sources, is that the general society is starting to set the pace to protect itself before any imposed protective measure, and that’s pretty amazing, because we might just be looking into one of those times when Mexico comes together to achieve a common objective despite the circumstances.
Businesses have started sending a big part of their employees to home office, shops have start sending their elderly collaborators home to prevent them from becoming infected, improvised efforts have been created to support with groceries and money those small local shops that are on the verge to collapse with the financial stress and vulnerable groups are getting a spotlight to make the community aware of their quarantine needs during these months. It’s not happening in all levels of society, and the voices raising are in need of support to be herd everywhere, however, the fact that people are rushing ideas to lend a hand gives me a bit of hope that not all is lost.
Not all are reacting, but I believe those who are getting this wake-up call that reflects upon the social inequalities and the need we have to help others, will never be the same and will not go back to the previous mindset before this virus. The hope comes from thinking that a new consciousness will exist as part of the new “normal” when all this is over, one that comes to prove that we’re not that far away from those in need in our community, that we all depend on each other and that even in the terrible political context we are going through as a country, we are able to organize ourselves and try to protect us and the people around us.
Somehow being in a crisis pushes our patience, our resilience and our vision to align with a greater good. Of course, perhaps not in everyone, some close themselves up in comfort bubble and others can’t even defend themselves because they don’t have the means or opportunities to do so but the question we will live to see answer is: Will those who gain a human and empathic insight from this situation be able to push it across their actions and lives? And are we willing to step out of our comfort bubble to give hope to others? I guess we’ll have to wait and see, in Mexico and the world, how we change as a society after this Covid-19 uncertainty settles.