Mexico's president to lay out 'unorthodox' coronavirus plan to shield the poor, economy

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Sunday will outline measures to alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak with a focus on shielding the poor, but is likely to resist calls to borrow heavily for a giant stimulus package.

Governments across the globe have unleashed unprecedented spending pledges to minimise the damage to their economies from the fallout from the coronavirus, including a $2 trillion package by Mexico's biggest trading partner, the United States.

Lopez Obrador, a leftist, has shown little appetite to follow in the footsteps of Mexico's northern neighbour and has pledged to put forward an "unorthodox" plan. On Saturday, he said he would try to do "all that is possible" to prevent Mexico from piling on debt.

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador talks to the media after touring a family clinic in Cuernavaca

The socialist leader has made it clear that he would focus any economic measures on shielding the poor rather than on big businesses from a coming recession, with some analysts forecasting the economy could contract by as much as 10%.

Lopez Obrador, known by his initials "AMLO", plans to tap around $10 billion from various rainy day funds and this week the finance ministry said the "buffers" for the economy include some $6.6 billion available as of the end of 2019 in the Budget Revenue Stabilization Fund.

"AMLO is not understanding the profoundness of the ... (Read more)

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