ALL UNITED AS ONE
It is our turn to face what is perhaps the greatest challenge of this generation. We are doing it together, with responsibility and solidarity. Together, we Yucatecans have faced powerful hurricanes. Together we have rebuilt, time and again, our homes and our economy, and this time will be no exception.
The way this generation of Yucatecans faced this challenge will be remembered and inspiring, I assure you. We have done so in the past, and we will do so in the present.
The coronavirus pandemic is testing us all. Nothing escapes its grasp. Economy, daily life, health, which is where our most important concerns now come from and also most of our decisions as a society and government.
This pandemic is a great challenge from which I am sure we will emerge united. All the great chapters behind the great history of the Yucatan are challenges. It won’t be easy, but just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible. There is nothing impossible for the human spirit; that’s why there is the union of efforts, and that’s why there is the union of wills.
Everything that is happening reminds me of the meaning of being Yucatan. The pandemic will not come and defeat people like us, people used to moving forward every day. We have been tested and even amid great storms and natural disasters, we have moved forward, and we are going to do so again.
Regarding the health of all of us, be confident that our public health experts are working and redoubling their efforts. We are taking all necessary measures to protect the health of all, starting with the most vulnerable groups.
We are very clear about this: it is a matter of taking the most appropriate and timely measures so that the virus spreads as slowly as possible, infections are minimized, and they do not overwhelm our health system. For those who do not have the urgency to go to a hospital or clinic, they should avoid it. This will also help slow the spread and help us care for our health care workers.
You can help us now in three concrete ways:
- Follow hygiene measures.
- Don’t leave your home except for what is indispensable, such as going to work, buying food and going to the pharmacy
- Only share verified, official information.
The government will continue to do its job, of that you have no doubt. I trust that you will do yours and try to get everyone at home to do the same, because the Yucatan needs us to work together, without neglect or apathy.
In the next few days, I will ask more sacrifices from Yucatan society in terms of coexistence, economic activity, and mobility; I know it won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. I ask you to support me because I am not going to take any measures lightly, but no necessary measures will be left out.
Concerning the economy and family income, I am aware of how much this pandemic affects us all: it affects our daily lives and how each of us earns a living for his or her own. The coronavirus is affecting both businesses that generate jobs and workers and their families who are seeing their incomes decline.
In this regard, we are preparing a package of fiscal and economic incentives and benefits that will be announced in the next few days to protect the jobs of Yucatecans, which I will send shortly to the State Congress for approval.
We are not only going to help the companies and the economy of the State: We are going to support our fishermen, our producers in the countryside, those who work in hotels and restaurants, and those who do not have permanent jobs and work on their own.
Let there be no doubt about it. We will get by. And someday, when all this passes and we have overcome it by working together. Without rest, new generations of Yucatecans will come to remember these, as the times of those of us who knew how to work together, taking care of each other.
Our state is going to live up to what this time needs, you can put that trust in me because I trust you and us. We are here, and we will be here.
We’ll get through this. Shoulder to shoulder, united as one.
Mauricio Vila Dosal
Merida Yucatan, México
