On 29 February Mexico’s foreign ministry (SRE) issued a statement denying that it received any formal request from the US government to impose entry restrictions on their shared border to control the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
Analysis:
The statement came in response to remarks by US President Donald Trump that he was considering imposing restrictions at the US-Mexico border to stop the spread of Covid-19 after Mexico confirmed the first cases of the disease in the country. There are concerns in Mexico that the imposition of restrictions at the border could significantly affect its domestic economy, undermining the chances that there will be an economic recovery in Mexico this year following the GDP contraction registered in 2019.
- The Mexican authorities confirmed the first Covid-19 case in the country on 28 February after reporting of a suspicious case a day earlier. Since then four more confirmed Covid-19 cases have been reported in the southern state of Chiapas, the north-eastern state of Sinaloa, and in the northern border state of Coahuila. This has been taken as a sign that the virus is starting to spread across Mexico in what could become a major outbreak (the local media says that as many as 400 individuals have been infected).
- The Mexican government insists that there currently is no national health emergency over coronavirus as the outbreak is being contained. However, during a 29 February press conference President Trump said that his administration was considering imposing restrictions on the US southern border to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak in the US (where 15 case have been confirmed so far). After announcing restrictions on travel from areas badly affected by the outbreak such as China, South Korea, and Italy, Trump said that “We are thinking about the southern border”.
- Trump did not give more details, but the speculation is that this would involve entry restrictions on individuals and goods. But the SRE statement is clear that there has been no formal proposal for imposing border restrictions, adding that the two governments maintain “close communication” over the issue.
Looking Ahead: Following the release of the SRE statement, US Vice President Michael Pence, who has been tasked with coordinating the US response to the coronavirus, said that the US is still discussing what further actions it will adopt to contain the virus.
