Mexico declares State of Emergency.

April 2, 2020

On March 31, 2020, due to the increase in cases of contagion in the country, the Secretary of Health published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, a Decree, establishing extraordinary actions to address the health emergency due to causes of force majeure, generated by the SARS-CoV2 virus (COVID-19).

In summary, the measures adopted in the public, private and social sectors are the following:

Immediate suspension of all activities from March 30 to April 30, 2020 with exception to the essential activities.

The activities considered essential are subject to exception from the suspension of activities, in summary: I) necessary to attend the health emergency; II) public safety; III) fundamental sectors of the economy; IV) those directly related to the operation of government social programs; V) those related to critical public services.

The following practices are imposed: I) meetings of less than 50 people; II) frequent hand washing; III) remote greeting; IV) “etiquette” sneeze (under the elbow).

The entire population in Mexican territory is invited to stay at home, with the exception of those who participate in essential activities.

Stay at home is strictly applied to people in the vulnerable group, including those who participate in essential activities.

The return to activities will be staggered, orderly and under the coordination of the Ministry of Economy and Labor.

Suspension of censuses and surveys.

The Ministry of Health will determine all the actions that are necessary to attend the emergency.

The measures will be applied with strict observance to human rights.

The Decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, entered into force on the same day of its publication.

There are many doubts and questions regarding the definition or scope of some of the measures and concepts established in this decree, especially the concepts of emergency due to causes of force majeure, instead of a contingency or health emergency; similarly, many questions arise about the definition of essential activities.

Needless to say that the mentioned controversial concepts, as well as all the measures, will have a series of legal impacts in the regulatory, administrative, labor, contractual, tax and other fields, for which OLIVARES is permanently monitoring communications. officials, determinations and interpretations of these and other measures that the Federal Government has implemented to combat the current health emergency.