Good. Long trip back. We were on the same flight. We left with the colleague from Televisa and Fórmula. Yes, 12 hours on the way back.
No, very good, honestly. We already saw you over there too. The trip back was rough for you too. I'm glad you went. Please, have a seat.
Mexico has always been very well received abroad, honestly. And a lot of affection at the airport, on the plane, everything went very well. We did very well. Well, Mexico did very well, because it's not personal — we go with the representation of Mexico.
Well, today with us is Mario Delgado, Secretary of Public Education, and also Tania Rodríguez, who is Undersecretary of Upper Secondary Education, as well as Iván Escalante, and closing with José Alfonso on Mexican humanism.
Tania is going to tell us about 'Mi derecho, mi lugar', which is the replacement of the COMIPEMS exam. 18 states of the Republic no longer have an exam for upper secondary education. You go to the school closest to home and the student chooses.
She will present the results for the Valley of Mexico and for the states of the Republic, and we keep moving forward with the other entities so that access to upper secondary education, to high school, is easy, and also the expansion of enrollment, the construction of new schools, everything we are doing at the upper secondary level. And Mario is going to talk about this topic too and about healthy living.
How are we doing with healthy living? This work we're doing in schools with girls and boys, in collaboration with the Mexican Social Security Institute, to measure height and weight, free glasses for all those who have any vision problem. That is essentially education, right?
And before we start, likewise our solidarity — I just read that there was a significant earthquake in Japan. Our solidarity, and we all hope, as Mexicans, that there were no loss of lives; we will be watching the information. Well, go ahead Iván, to begin.
I'll also take the opportunity — today the representative from the United States is here; he arrived yesterday, from the United States area, to review all the trade agreements. It's called USTR, which is the United States Trade Representative; it's different from the Ministry of Commerce. He has his team as part of the work of the review of the T-MEC. Meetings were held in Washington and now they're coming here. I'm going to receive them at 10 in the morning and afterwards they stay working with the Ministry of Economy. Well, go ahead.
Thank you very much, President. Good morning to all. Who has the best prices? We're going to announce that Finabien is still the remittance company that gives the most money for the dollars our countrymen send. Remember that we do a simulated $400 transfer on a calculator we have available for everyone on our website, and in this case to a deposit account or transfer. In this modality, Finabien is giving 7.06281 per $400. We'll put a checkmark next to it, and the one paying the least in this modality is Ria Money Transfer with 6.69672. We'll put an X. And remember that we also have full monitoring of all the remittance companies on our website.
Go ahead. In the cash delivery modality, Pangea Money Transfer is the best option with 7.084 pesos per 400. We'll give it a checkmark, and WorldRemit is the one paying the least with 6.69756. We'll put an X.
We continue now with — this is a special follow-up we're doing on the price of diesel. We have a national average price of 28.50. But there's a very important effort here that we've been working on with the gas station owners. We already have 54.6% of service stations selling diesel below 28.28. From 28.29 to 28.50, 11.44%. That is, we already have 65% of stations selling below 28.50, but we still have 34.5% selling above 28.51.
With this we are pursuing two strategies. We continue working practically every day at work tables that are now permanently installed, including weekends, with the business owners, the gas station operators, to bring the average price down to 28 pesos. And we'll keep up that effort all week. And now the next one is informing. We continue with this strategy of placing banners. We keep strengthening our monitoring. Out of 44 visits we have placed 14 banners on the stations that are still playing games with prices. Remember that this is a procedure that begins the day before the banner is placed, in which information is requested from the suppliers as to why they are selling so expensively. All the commercial information is analyzed and if it does not match the profit margin, that's when the banner is placed. We will continue. Warning seals are also placed and we will strengthen this monitoring. Go ahead.
In our monitoring of gasol— hold on a moment.
There is no reason for the price that many gas stations are setting on diesel. There's no reason. A reduction in the IEPS is being provided based on a formula that was established long ago; that is, public resources are being used to subsidize diesel and yet many gas station owners are setting the price of diesel very high. So now we have banners, but we're also going to do a full review of the reason for this with SAT and with all the institutions of the government of Mexico. Tomorrow I'm meeting with the gas station owners in the afternoon, but there's no reason for them to be setting diesel at this level. To tell consumers to fill up on diesel where there are accessible prices within the margin, and besides, Mexican oil was at $100 a barrel. Today it's at 88 and we're reviewing with the Ministry of Finance in order to even lower it below 28 pesos, so that diesel costs even less. So tomorrow we're meeting and they cannot keep it at this price, which represents an impact on all the transport of goods in the country.
Thank you, President. We continue now with the average price of regular gasoline. It's at 23.69. And here the one with fair prices is Pemex in Veracruz. Veracruz, 23.19. We show the table for each region and in no case is the profit margin above X pesos per liter of regular gasoline. Go ahead.
And here, sorry, it's a checkmark. And now we list the ones that are still playing games with prices, now with regular gasoline, highlighting this Oxogas in Aguascalientes. Aguascalientes, 24.99. But we've also identified this Petro Seven in Monterrey, Nuevo León, selling 24.39 a liter, with a profit of 3.4 per liter of regular gasoline. We'll put an X. Remember, as the President just said, we have the virtual map available on Profeco's website, where we have now also integrated the diesel price so that everyone who buys this fuel can check it.
Last week, thanks to the package against inflation and the high cost of living, the PASIC basket is maintained. The President of Mexico held a meeting with all the producers, marketers and the self-service chain committed to the economy of Mexican women and men, and it is guaranteed that the PASIC will continue below 910. This joint work has been maintained for more than a year and will continue, and a joint effort will be made to lower the cost of tomatoes and stabilize the price of tortillas. These are two of the main agreements reached with all these business people, with this entire productive chain of the products that make up the PASIC basket. At Profeco we will continue monitoring the prices of these 24 products and informing everyone through our media so they can make a better decision when purchasing their basic basket. Go ahead.
And in this monitoring we have the cheapest we identified at Chedraui Mina in Villahermosa, Tabasco. 787.80. We'll put a checkmark, and the most expensive at Walmart, Culiacán, at 952.50. We'll put an X. But look at how there can be a difference of up to 164 pesos in the same basic basket, depending on the establishment where it is purchased.
Our three-city follow-up: Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City, the cheapest, Sumesa Oaxaca, which is in the Roma neighborhood — 847 pesos for the 24 products, checkmark. And the most expensive, Bodega Aurrerá Bolívar, 901.50. Also a checkmark for being below 910. In Querétaro: Chedraui Centro Sur, the cheapest, 828.30, checkmark; and the most expensive, La Comer Estadio, at 852 pesos, also a checkmark. In Zapopan, Jalisco: Soriana Guadalajara, 828.90, the cheapest, checkmark; and the most expensive, Walmart Vallarta, 922 pesos. Here we will put an X.
We continue in our El Consumidor magazine for April; also within the strategy Vive Saludable, Vive Feliz, in coordination or collaboration with chef Edna Alanís, we made a sardine salpicón dish. It's a very balanced dish. Here are the ingredients. It costs 19.10 to make the whole thing. It yields six portions and takes 30 minutes to prepare. There's the QR code so you can download the recipe, and you can download the whole magazine to see the other contents.
Go ahead. Very well. We conclude with the Profeco tips of the week. One: remember that regular gasoline should cost less than 24 pesos and diesel should approach 28. Use the virtual map to find the best option. Two: marketers and producers agreed with the President of Mexico to keep the PASIC basket below 910 pesos. Check who has the best prices to compare and choose fair prices. And three: check out the wise dish of the month in El Consumidor magazine, sardine salpicón — tasty, nutritious and economical. Download the magazine, our social media, the website and the consumer hotline. We conclude, President. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Iván. Who starts? Mario or Tania. Tania.
Good morning. Thank you very much. Thank you, President. Secretary — we're going to tell you how we're doing with 'Mi derecho, mi lugar'. If you'll remember, last year the President of the Republic decided and we pushed the elimination of the COMIPEMS exam, that old exam that for more than 20 years, we could say, terrified adolescents in this metropolitan area, and which to a large extent meant that the result of that exam determined where you went. Last year it was removed; 272,393 applicants registered. And if you remember, after this new allocation model where the exam was removed, 97.4% of students got into their first three choices. That marked an enormous difference because under the old procedure many students, an important group, ended up in their seventh, eighth and even twenty-something choice. Last year this was achieved and we want to tell you how we're doing now.
On Friday, April 17, the 'Mi derecho, mi lugar' platform closed. We closed the registration process. 307,241 applicants registered and we're very happy with this process in which, once again — and if you'd move to the next slide — once again we see an important trend. 40% of these applicants, these secondary school students, these young people between 15 and 16 years old who registered, have chosen a direct-admission option without an exam. 37% chose the option of taking the exam and also selecting all the schools that don't have one, and only 15% stayed with the exam selection. You'll remember that, based on their internal decisions and their internal regulations, the UNAM and the National Polytechnic Institute are institutions that maintain their admission through an exam. But this reinforces the idea that students look for options and recognize the non-exam options as very important options. Once again, we see a presence of 54% women and 46% men in this registration.
The results will be announced on August 18, so please everyone stay tuned for this direct-admission and allocation model. We wish success to the students who will take their exams at the National Polytechnic Institute and the UNAM at the end of June. And we remind anyone who missed registration: don't panic. As the platform says — everyone, education is a right and everyone has a place — an extraordinary period opens again from August 19 to 26.
Lastly, I want to present you with wonderful news in this decision to transform the national high school system — what the President has called the national high school, which is the coordination and better coordination of all the subsystems, of all the agencies across the length and breadth of the country. 18 states have walked this new path of entry to upper secondary education without an exam, guaranteeing a place for everyone and making students, the young secondary school graduates, feel that high school receives them, that no one is left out and that no one is conditioned by the result of an exam. These 18 states that join us are Baja California, Chihuahua, Colima, Durango — well, the State of Mexico and Mexico City were already in this process — Guerrero, Michoacán, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Yucatán and Zacatecas. With the rest of the states we are working and, within the framework of the National High School System of the Nueva Escuela Mexicana that the President established last year, we are working hard so that next year and throughout the country we have direct admission where all secondary students go straight to high school and feel that they have their right and their place. Thank you very much, President.
Good morning. With your permission, President. Just to highlight on 'Mi derecho, mi lugar' that there are 10% more enrollees compared to last year. We went from around 270,000 to more than 300,000. It means that young people are responding very well to there being no exam. More young people are enrolling to study high school. Well, progress on Vive Saludable, Vive Feliz. We started on March 12 of last year; we've had a little over a year with this strategy, with very good progress. Go ahead, go ahead, please. Just to remember — go ahead — remember that it's the IMSS brigades, as the President mentioned, who are going to the schools together with brigades from the Ministry of Health and the Education Ministries. Go ahead.
Remember that it's an intervention involving weight and height measurement, visual health, oral health and promotion of healthy lifestyles. Go ahead. How are we doing? We already have almost 10 million students assessed, 88.5% of total enrollment, more than 79,000 schools visited, almost 80,000. We're reaching 100% and it's extraordinary work. This means we have the digital health record of 9,882,000 girls and boys across the country, and we will be updating this health record year after year to see the evolution of weight, height, and their oral and visual health. Go ahead.
How are we doing by state? We have eight entities that have already reached 100% of schools and have more than 90% of students assessed. There's always a margin where we won't reach 100% because this is done with the approval of parents. Parents authorize in writing that yes they want to participate, that they want their children examined. There's a percentage that doesn't authorize it, so we'll never reach 100%. But we have eight entities — Aguascalientes, Chiapas, Guanajuato, Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Veracruz and Hidalgo — with 100% of schools visited and more than 90% of students assessed. We have nine entities — Tabasco, State of Mexico, Michoacán, Querétaro, Nuevo León, Mexico City, Sonora, Quintana Roo and San Luis Potosí — where we've already been to 100% of schools and are doing a second round to complete those students who weren't there that day; they're at just under 90% assessed. We have seven entities with assessment above 80%, five entities between 79% and 66%, and three entities — Chihuahua, Jalisco and Oaxaca — where we're a bit more behind, but in general we have very good progress. Go ahead.
Why is it important to follow the recommendations given to parents? These are the overall results reported by the IMSS platform, where the school digital health record is stored. And this is not a survey; these are hard, real data. Four out of every 10 children are overweight or obese and one out of every 10 children are underweight. In visual health, four out of 10 have visual acuity problems. With the Snellen test done in schools, they are detected as having some visual weakness, so they must go get checked, and six out of 10 have cavities. Now, for all these diagnoses that emerge, there is care from the health sector. Everything is absolutely free. Parents are given a recommendation on where to take their children to a clinic for nutritional guidance, where to take them to get completely free glasses, and also to get care to have their cavities filled. Of those children, more than 50% has never been to the dentist. Go ahead.
We are now giving — President, we are sending the report in writing to parents. It had been sent digitally, now we're doing it in writing. More than 8 million reports are already reaching homes, families, to remind them what their child's results were on this day. Yes, the recommendation is that they take them for nutritional guidance — where and at what times? If the recommendation is to take them to have their cavities taken care of, where they can go for that, and also where they can go to pick up their free glasses. Go ahead.
The glasses issue is important because we'd like more parents to follow this recommendation. Remember that it's free, nothing will be charged; the exam is done with state-of-the-art equipment to detect exactly what prescription they need. And the glasses are very fast — they're ready in about a week and are additionally sent to the schools. In the results report it says where they must go to get this care. Go ahead.
We also have recommendations on the Vive Saludable website: recipes, recommendations on physical activity and, in general, on how they can instill healthy habits in their boys and girls, to round out this strategy that is accompanied by what is taught in the classroom with classroom projects, school projects, community projects around health, and also the ban on junk food that already prevails in schools. We still need to close the circle with what happens at home, and there are many recommendations on this site. We have videos, we have recipes, there's a great deal of material. Go ahead.
And we also have this site where they can look up all the doubts they have about their child's results sheet; if they don't know where the clinic is to take their children, they can go in and get the guidance; if they don't know where to take their children to have the eye exam and pick up their glasses. There's all the information available for parents in this strategy: Vive Saludable, Vive Feliz. Go ahead.
Oh, well, that's it. This is the strategy the President laid down to unite the right to health with the right to education. Is that all, President?
Thank you, Mario. Well, let's go to the questions. Let's see, let's go over here.
Good morning, Enrique Muñiz from Capital 21. Thank you, President. Good morning. First, to ask a little about this new model of admission to high school. I remember very well that here in Mexico City, when you were head of government, you also started with the Castellanos plan high schools. How important has it been and how has it developed now at the national level? They explained it a bit, but from your perspective, how have you seen this growth that direct admission to high school for young people has had?
Why don't you tell us, Tania, how many new places there will be? Type of schools, everything. Or that there already are and will be.
Thank you. Well, there are two very important things. One, the diagnosis that more schools were needed and that boys and girls need to be in school. And for that there are two strategies: one, the expansion of schools, of coverage. Last year 44,000 new places were opened with 83 works of expansion of new technological schools and reconversion. We opened evening-shift secondary-high schools in some cities. That happened last year, but this year — and it has to be said — those schools started to fill up. Wherever we opened a school, it filled, and this year the President has decided that we have more than 500 new works. Last year 83, this year 500 — more than 500.
How will those projects be? Once again, they are, let's say, technological high schools in different parts of the country. 26 of those will be built this year. On the other hand, we have 108 schools in populations of 2,500 inhabitants or fewer, bringing the school to where it doesn't reach. Third, we will continue expanding high-demand schools, schools that are saturated and have space, so classrooms are built so more can come in. And finally, a new project articulated to the national high school that we call the Margarita Maza project of the national high school, which are schools to generate a return to school.
What does that mean? Students who for some reason left school and are around 16. Students who don't necessarily like the more traditional schools and need... Why? Because that's how their life is, because they have to work, because at that vital moment that's what they need. Or students who also need time to do other things. As I was saying a moment ago, they have to help their families work, and these Margarita Maza high schools — around 300 of which will open across the country — will see continued enrollment growth. This growth is accompanied by an admissions policy: telling students, getting close to the third-year secondary students, because this is something that often isn't seen in 'Mi derecho, mi lugar'.
It's very important that we reach out to the secondary schools and tell them: go straight to high school, go straight, be there. The exam created many distortions. Also, some students, instead of going to a school near their home, were sent to a very distant school. Now students — and this allocation is based on what they decide — and many of them choose, for obvious reasons, schools close to their home, which makes the students better off, families can accompany them, and they stay and finish high school. So, a very comprehensive policy that the President of the Republic has entrusted.
It's 200,000 new places for the close of 2026 and we will evaluate in order to keep opening more spaces.
Young people aged 15 to 18 have to be in school, and the government's obligation is to open all the possibilities so they are in school. The exam rather created a view where, according to your grade, you went to the best high school or the worst high school. So if you had a 10, supposedly you went to the best, and if you had a six, you went to the worst. Absurd. At 15, all public schools must be good. What's more, all public schools are good.
This idea that some are excellent and others not so much is false. There are different orientations. Some are more oriented to technical education, others more to general high school, but all are good and we are improving all of them in infrastructure. 'The school is ours' — it wasn't in upper secondary education, now it is. And we're also allocating very important resources to improve all upper secondary schools; the so-called tele-high schools we are improving, and also the tele-secondary schools, but in the case of upper secondary education, the tele-high schools and a new vision of teaching in line with the Nueva Escuela Mexicana.
Of course you have to learn math, you have to learn history, you have to learn literature, but you have to do it in a way that those young people aged 15 to 18 don't have an aversion to school, but quite the opposite, they feel embraced by the school. All that work has been done by Mario Delgado and under Tania Rodríguez's coordination as well. Very important, because young people have to feel accepted by the school and want to go to school, and there they have to learn many things. Besides knowledge, they have to learn to live together in society.
So this work we're doing in upper secondary education, which we call the national high school, is fundamental so that young people can go to school. When there is education, all indices of violence, of family violence, decrease — it's demonstrated internationally. What we want is to advance in narrowing the educational gap, so that more young people have access to upper secondary education and also to higher education, because we are also expanding the number of universities. That's called the right to education: free education, quality education, secular education, and an education that allows young people not to be expelled but incorporated. There were mechanisms, for example, where if you failed a subject the young person was expelled from school. If what we want is for them to be in school — if you fail a subject, then we have to give you the conditions so you can have a make-up course, have other opportunities to be able to pass the subject, not the opposite, expelling you from school. So all this work for young people aged 15 to 18 is very important.
This song that we made — well, we didn't make it; it was a participation I had at an assembly that a young woman turned into a song. How does the little song go? 'We're going to build more high schools close to home, so that after secondary school they go straight to high school.' Why did it go so viral? Because it's a need — not only that it's cute, but that it's a need of young people. That's why we're building more high schools close to home, without exams. For all those who say that not having an exam lowers the educational level: in the United States there is no exam to go to high school; you go to the high school closest to home. Not because we want to follow the US model, but if anyone wants to look at a nearby country that has such a condition, it's very close.
The same happens in Europe; in many European countries there is no exam for upper secondary education. What we have to open is more high schools so young people study. So, of course young people have to make an effort to pass their subjects, obviously, but we have to give them all the conditions so they stay in school. With this there's another program called 'We miss you in the classroom.' 'We miss you in the classroom' has this characteristic: if a young person leaves school, from the schools we have to go look for them at their home, so they come back to school and to understand the reasons why they left school. So the goal: all young people aged 15 to 17 in school.
And the importance for you, President, of the fact that 18 states have already joined this dynamic, and what's left for the remaining states?
All of them agree. We just have to incorporate them, and whoever doesn't agree has the right to work in a different way. Our guidance is to eliminate the exam from high school. The UNAM and the Polytechnic Institute still have it and we respect their decision, but a young person who wants to... Before, how was it? You took the exam for high school and if not, you went to another school — to UNAM high school, and if not you went to another school. No, now you can take the exam and at the same time have your enrollment at another school guaranteed from the start, or take the exam and then, if you didn't get into the UNAM or the Polytechnic, then enter 'Mi derecho, mi lugar', or simply not take the exam and enter directly. Half the students choose not to take the exam and enter directly the school closest to home. So there are all the options in 'Mi derecho, mi lugar'.
Okay, President, thank you so much for the answer. I'd like to ask about another topic, obviously about the trip you made this weekend to Barcelona. First, this message of peace that you gave in the first meeting, this message about our country's conviction to resolve any conflict through peaceful means, through dialogue — if you could elaborate more on that, on those kinds of messages you gave, and also the recognition of the indigenous peoples that you make.
Well, first, the objective of the participation was to recognize Mexico, an international recognition of where we come from and whom we represent. Today I read an article by one of the pundits who can't stand us — an intellectual — who says, 'Why does the President talk about indigenous peoples? They're only a percentage of the population.' Anyone who is Mexican by birth or by adoption, from my point of view, must recognize the legacy of greatness of where we come from. Anyone who does not want to recognize the legacy of greatness of the great civilizations can hardly identify with what Mexico's origin represents. Anyone who wants to separate indigenous people from mestizos is almost in the colonial era, isn't he? With the caste division that existed then. So we are part of one country and we must recognize the greatness of the peoples and not this view that with the discovery of America or the conquest they came to civilize us.
So, that's the first thing. That's why the recognition of both pre-Columbian history and national history, from independence to the Fourth Transformation. For us that's called Mexican humanism, that recognition of Mexico's greatness.
The other thing, which today is extremely important, is Mexico's foreign policy and the vanguard it represents in the world — that our Constitution enshrines the self-determination of the peoples.
It comes from Juárez, it comes from Carranza, it comes from Madero, it comes from Carranza and then from Lázaro Cárdenas, and obviously from Estrada, Secretary of Foreign Affairs: self-determination of peoples, non-intervention, peaceful resolution of conflicts. Just those three alone — imagine — are not in any constitution. That is how advanced Mexico is in its foreign policy. So what we are proposing is what is in the Mexican Constitution, that is what we came to say, but it is also in some way recognized in the Charter of the United Nations. It came first in Mexico, in our Constitution.
And the other very important one, which for us is essential because of our principles of foreign policy, is solidarity with Cuba, and at the same time the proposals we made for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, that part of what is currently spent on militarism in the world be redirected to reforesting the world and providing employment to millions of citizens across our planet, particularly in the poorest countries. And also the proposal that the next summit be held in Mexico and that its essence be the economy for well-being and cooperation for development, which also comes from the Constitution. So that is what we proposed, and part of this was included in the final declaration, where it was not only the Latin American countries — for example, Ireland was present, the Prime Minister of Ireland was present. So there was the presence of various countries from the continent.
President, and about your meeting with the Spanish president...
...of the continent and of the European continent.
Of course, about this meeting you had with the President of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, what was discussed, and especially this invitation you made for him to visit Mexico — could you share whether a date has already been set, something more concrete regarding this invitation you made?
We spoke about continuing with the exhibitions in Spain, particularly about continuing to send exhibitions related to the indigenous peoples, also regarding the arrival of the Spanish and the abuses of the conquest, which were even acknowledged by the King of Spain himself. And continuing with the cultural, educational, and other ties. For example, we were just the next day at the supercomputer in Barcelona, where we already have a signed agreement — it was signed here at the mañanera, if you all remember. A team has already been sent there from the national meteorological service, and there is also another collaboration we currently have, and the construction of a supercomputer in Mexico and a supercomputing network in our country, which they will kindly help us design and launch here in our country.
President, and finally, well, a local topic here in Mexico City: on Saturday, another concert. In this case, Andrea Bocelli is performing. I don't know if you received any report from the head of government, whether she met today during the cabinet, whether she came. What reports were given to you and how were you able to perceive it with the information you could...
Yes, it seems that there were, I believe, 300,000 people, she mentioned that they came. The Zócalo is a space of freedom and of culture, and these concerts show it. And now we are taking them to other places because yesterday Claudia Curiel reported to me that the record was broken in Veracruz at the concert held there. This one is... this is the Zócalo one, right? Look how beautiful. And with this program of young people transforming Mexico, we are taking concerts to different places. This is the Veracruz one, which also broke the attendance record.
Finally, President, going back a bit to Pedro Sánchez, the President of Spain, since you mentioned it, there is a message he issues against right-wing governments — obviously he points out that they are not shouting because they are winning, but because they know their time is running out, from his perspective. So I would also like to know your opinion about this view he has and about this message issued by the Spanish president.
Well, we agree. The right is hatred. The right is discrimination. The right is classism, racism. The right is repression. They supposedly speak of freedom, but it is the freedom of a few at the expense of the abandonment of many. And on the other hand, there is love, solidarity, fraternity, inclusion, the well-being of all — the poor first — shared prosperity, and freedom understood in a different way: freedom with well-being, because if there is no well-being, freedom cannot be spoken of. Because if there is no freedom of expression, of assembly, then freedom cannot be spoken of. When there is no access to education, what freedom? When there is no access to health, freedom cannot be spoken of. And right-wing governments maintain that these should be a commodity, not a right. Sovereignty, independence, democracy. So yes, there is a difference. And fortunately here in Mexico, the governments of the transformation have great acceptance because they represent that. And in the end, as I said, we are governments of the people. Lincoln said, 'Democracies are governments of the people, by the people, and for the people.' The right-wing are governments of the elite, by the elite, and for the elites. That is the right. The elites. Governments of the elites. Progressive governments, humanist governments are governments of the people and we govern for the people. They are two projects. Thank you very much.
Let's go to this side. Let's see who... let's see, the colleague from Heraldo.
Good morning, President. Noemí Gutiérrez from Heraldo Media Group. I want to ask, after this trip you took to Barcelona, whether you have confirmation that the King of Spain will come to Mexico, and whether this was discussed in the meeting with the President of Spain.
No, this was not discussed. No, we have no information.
And also whether you already have confirmations that heads of state and government will come for the World Cup.
We don't have the confirmations yet; we will inform you once we do.
Also, if you can give us a preview of the topics you will discuss with the United States trade representative.
Well, it is the progress of the dialogue we have had regarding the T-MEC. Some specific proposals that we are going to present in this meeting, which were presented in the last meeting held in Washington related to steel, aluminum, and automobiles. So I wouldn't want to advance much further until we have the meeting. It is important that it be known that we are also incorporating the person who leads the entire negotiation, the communication, the dialogue — it is the Ministry of the Economy — and three people are being incorporated into the team in addition to the team of the Secretary of the Economy. They are Dr. Ora Diana Larcón, who is our representative at the World Bank in Washington. She has a doctorate in economics and is joining the team as well. Julio Verdegüe for all the topics — Dr. Julio Verdegüe for all the topics related to agriculture, livestock, and Roberto Leri, who is also the director of Nafin at this moment. So we decided to strengthen the team that is handling the trade agreements. They will be at today's meeting as well, and of course under the direction and coordination of Marcelo Ebrard.
Is there any issue that matters more to Mexico that will be emphasized at the table?
Well, obviously the issues of steel, aluminum, and automobiles matter a great deal to us, that an agreement could be reached in advance — beyond the negotiation itself — or that they be taken into account within the negotiation itself. We want the treaty to remain, with some improvements, but in essence what is being proposed is a review of the treaty. They are very interested in strengthening the rules of origin to prevent products from other countries from entering and simply passing through Mexico without added value and arriving in the United States. We also care that this does not happen. That is why we imposed tariffs on countries with which we do not have a trade agreement and other measures we have been taking. And obviously, the stronger the rules of origin, the better. That means more is produced in Mexico, but in essence, it is a review that is going to be done now. So there are agreements on many issues, and the important thing is to keep moving forward.
President, on another topic: to confirm whether on Wednesday you will receive the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and at what time the meeting would be here at the Palace.
At 10 in the morning. At 10 in the morning on Wednesday I will receive him here, and he has had several meetings both with government areas and with civil organizations, with groups dedicated to human rights. He is coming not only regarding the issue of the disappeared, but also to learn about the entire human rights mechanism in our country.
You had also mentioned that a report will be delivered to the High Commissioner — whether that report will be made public.
Well, more than a report, it is what we have been presenting, related in particular to the issue of the disappeared, which is a very important document, and also, well, how the entire human rights mechanism works in our country.
Will that report be made public, President?
I don't know if it is already public; we'll have to ask Rosicel.
More than a report, it is a document. It's not that it's a report, but a document.
And also asking you on another topic: in Chihuahua it was reported that after an operation, elements died in an accident, among them two agents from the United States embassy. Whether this issue was addressed in the security cabinet and whether the federal government was aware of the participation of these two American agents in Mexico.
We were not aware. It was a decision by the government of Chihuahua. We are requesting more information from the government of Chihuahua, everything related to personnel. Well, first and foremost, we lament the deaths, because regardless of any situation, there is the human aspect, and we lament this accident, that they died, and they have all the solidarity and all the support of the government of Mexico, and we are in contact with the United States embassy. That is the first thing above all. The second is that we had no knowledge of there being a direct working relationship between the state of Chihuahua and personnel from the United States embassy in Mexico. So we are requesting all the information from the government of Chihuahua and also from the government of the United States, to review whether there is any violation of the National Security Law, because it is important. It is not only... we have made it clear and we have stated it this way: there is collaboration, there is coordination, but there are no joint operations on land, well, nor in air — there are no joint operations. There is information provided from them to us, from us to them, of different types, particularly intelligence. Collaboration takes place within this framework, within a well-established framework, and we also appreciate the support that has been given in this sense within the framework of our sovereignty, because our sovereignty is always above all else, respect for our sovereignty with the four principles we have established regarding the territorial integrity of Mexico. So we are going to provide more information once we have it about why this situation occurred, particularly with the government of Chihuahua and the Investigation Agency of the Chihuahua Attorney General's Office, and also with the government of the United States, because the relationship is federal, not state. That is, they must have authorization from the federation for this collaboration that exists at the state level, necessarily. That is what the Constitution establishes. So this is the situation, and of course we are going to provide more information.
Do you know which agency? Which agency were these two American agents from? Which agency?
The embassy has to give us the information, and of course, as far as the information can be given, it will be given without affecting people's own security and within the framework of the security actions that must be taken. Ambassador Ron Johnson will be called upon to explain. Since yesterday, the security cabinet has been in contact with the ambassador. Today he is coming to the meeting. If there is an opportunity, I will raise it with him. If not, because it is another topic we will be discussing today, I will ask him to meet with the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, because there is a very well-established framework for Americans engaged in security work, or for American agencies that are in Mexico, they must necessarily act under a protocol. This is the only occasion on which American agents have participated in an operation in Mexico. Well, during Calderón's time it was common for them to participate everywhere, right? But it was not in our government, it was in a state government. Yes, that must be made very clear. So we are going to find out exactly what the conditions were for this, and we are going to inform society because this needs to be known. It has to be reviewed within the framework of the legislation, but it was not an operation that the security cabinet was aware of.
Okay, thank you very much, President. Good day.
Once we have all the information, we are going to report it, but it is important that you know because yesterday it was announced by the Attorney General's Office that there was knowledge, and that is not the case. It is not the case. It was some kind of operation, an action, or a mobilization, let's call it that. Agents from the state of Chihuahua, from the institutions of the state of Chihuahua, and from the United States embassy were in the same vehicle, related to security issues. Let's go over here, okay? Let's see, who else? Who else? Let's see, all the way in the back who haven't participated. The colleague.
Good morning, President. Gloria Carpedario, Imagen. Well, Veracruz has consolidated itself as the host of the National Circuit of Festivals for Peace with the Puerto Sonoro festival, which brought together more than 130,000 people, as you mentioned, at the macro-plaza on the Malecón, with an economic impact of 600 million pesos and 100% hotel occupancy. President, can culture, like the one experienced at the Puerto Sonoro festival, become the most solid path to build peace and a future for the youth of Mexico?
It is a comprehensive program for the care of young women and men that we have now strengthened. 'Young People Building the Future' has been in the country for eight years and has had very important results. Now we decided to strengthen it further, in addition to that, with schools, more schools. President López Obrador did it with the Benito Juárez universities. Now we decided to give importance to upper secondary education. The Benito Juárez scholarships had already been granted, very important so that there is no dropout for economic reasons, but we are strengthening the entire upper secondary education system of the national high school system and also creating more spaces, opening more spaces in the preparatory schools and also with Rosario Castellanos, more spaces in the universities. So it is access to education, of course, access to sports with the 'Boxing for Peace' program and the Mexico Unstoppable community centers, which will be 100 this year in different parts of the country, and we will keep growing. Sports, culture — also in Mexico Unstoppable there is access to culture, and these festivals open access to culture free of charge to very many young people who otherwise could not have access to these festivals. And tomorrow we are going to present the mental health topic, which is also related to particular care for young people in the third year of secondary school and in upper secondary education. Thank you.
In a world where politics is often questioned, what does it mean to you that an artistic voice as respected as Joan Manuel Serrat speaks of your work with admiration and calls it fantastic? Do you consider that culture and politics can find themselves on the same path to build a fairer country that is closer to the people?
Oh, imagine — for those of us who grew up listening to Joan Manuel Serrat, it is a lot of emotion, a lot of emotion. I didn't know he was going to be there, so I was greeting people, and the last person I greeted was Joan Manuel Serrat. So I was surprised, I hugged him. We have a great admiration for his singing and for what he represented for so long in the struggle against fascism and Francoism. He spent a lot of his life in Mexico, in this vision of Mexico that was never lost — giving asylum to many people persecuted for various reasons, many South American exiles, well, since the Spanish Republic, and among them Joan Manuel Serrat, although he also returned to Spain. But we grew up 'making the road by walking,' so, well, a lot of emotion.
Thank you, President. What does it mean to you that today fewer girls and boys face obesity in Mexico?
Well, Mexico went from first place to fifth... I think it's eighth, right? Let's see, check it. You have the child index there. Look how important this is. This is for the girls and boys — later when I walk around, people still tell me, 'Why did you take the sweets out of school?' The fact that during the hours they are at school they do not consume a lot of sugar. And the sugar producers have told us something, because it's not only sugar, but also high-fructose corn syrup, which has also been shown to have greater health effects than even sugar. But the abuse of these products causes health problems, not immediately, yes, but throughout life. So having removed soft drinks from schools and everything that is being done for a healthy life has been very important, and it also raises awareness in families that it is important to moderate the consumption of certain foods. It doesn't mean you can never eat a little cake or a soft drink, but you have to moderate it to avoid diabetes, hypertension later on, and childhood obesity also causes many problems in childhood and afterwards. So all this work that Mario has been doing in the schools in an exemplary way, and the IMSS as well, has generated a great deal of awareness in schools and among mothers and fathers. So it has been very important, and this index of going from first place — I don't know if it's fifth or eighth.
Eighth. Well, obviously, imagine in such a short time, it is very important, and we are going to keep insisting on what a healthy life means, a better diet that does not depend on economic resources. Look at the mockery the right made of an intervention I made in Zacatecas. Disparagingly, in the United States they call us 'frijoleros' — bean-eaters — because Mexicans, Mexican women and men, consume a lot of beans. That comes from pre-Hispanic times, and beans are very nutritious, and if combined with a cereal they have proteins similar even to those of meat — nutritionists can tell you that. So the diet... recovering that diet and moving away from processed foods is very important, and it does not represent more economic resources — sometimes it's even fewer economic resources. Mexico has stopped consuming beans, so what we want is to recover bean consumption as well for what it means nutritionally. And they mocked what I said — imagine — that is part of this classism, this racism linked to a food that comes from the milpa, because moreover if corn is planted with beans, the bean fixes nitrogen and helps the corn grow and gives richness to the soil where it is planted. So we are recovering the milpa diet, which is very important because it does not represent, obviously, everything that meat means — although there are some who do not agree with this — but it is very important to recover a balanced diet and also to exercise, to have a non-sedentary life. All of this is very important in a healthy life, and taking advantage of what is being done in schools so that girls and boys who have a vision problem — who are 40% — can go to get their glasses for free. Here I want to thank, because there are many companies that are helping us, there are around 10 companies, right? Do you want to comment? Because we have to thank when people...
