I'll accept it wasn't media created, but media hysteria? Of course it was. Actually, I also feel the drug violence scare falls in the same category. Let's not forget there are millions of US xenophobes who love to hear this shit, it sells newspapers, pulls ratings and boosts an ailing US travel industry. End of.
Politics and the Flu Politics and the Flu President Calderón's handling of the outbreak may have hastened his party's slide. Malcolm Beith Newsweek Web Exclusive May 7, 2009 | Updated: 6:58 p.m. ET May 7, 2009 "All men are liars, politicians even more so," said Martin Castellanos, a resident of Mexico City who was walking through the Zócalo, or main square, earlier this week. The normally bustling space was nearly deserted on account of flu fears and government advice to stay inside this past weekend. "They manage information however they like." Many Mexicans apparently share Castellanos's distrust of the government of President Felipe Calderón. Since day one of the flu outbreak, the public has been hypercritical of the administration's handling of the flu crisis, which for more than a week left a normally teeming metropolitan area of more than 20 million people looking as spookily empty as a set from an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Now, as the effects of A(H1N1), as the virus is called, begin to taper off, his National Action Party, or PAN, is beginning to feel the political repercussions. Critics have roundly attacked the government for its handling of the flu crisis. Earlier this week a group of opposition lawmakers said the Calderón administration should be "ashamed" for manipulating the flu numbers and trying to profit from the scare. Some left-wing columnists have compared him to Miguel de la Madrid, the president who, in the midst of the devastating 1985 Mexico City earthquake, left the public to fend for itself. Calderón is guilty of "using the outbreak to consolidate his power," said Mexico City-based law expert and analyst John Ackerman. Criticism is nothing new for the administration. Since taking power in late 2006, it has weathered accusations of being reactionary (security experts have argued that drug traffickers are always a few steps ahead of the Army) and poor at planning (Calderón never offered concrete proposals for creating the hundreds of thousands of new jobs each year he promised during his campaign). That Calderón has on several occasions brought his most loyal cronies into his cabinet has done little to stem accusations of bad governance. As the July 5 midterm elections grow nearer, the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled Mexico with a vicelike grip for 71 years until 2000, is touting itself as a party that knows how to govern and get things done. Despite Calderón's popularity—his approval rating hovers around 65 percent—the PAN is set to take a beating. It trails the PRI by at least 5 percent in most polls. If the administration doesn't shake the impression that it's bungled the flu crisis—or counter rumors that it manufactured it—the numbers could swing even more sharply in the PRI's direction. The PRI—which blocked the previous administration's attempts at reforms in Congress between 2000 and 2006—could wind up with a majority in the lower house after the elections, which could be a blow to Calderón's reform agenda. So far the administration's performance hasn't helped. Its health secretary first dithered on terminology, calling the flu outbreak an epidemic, then backtracked in the same sentence. At first the official case count soared; then it plummeted as soon as more-reliable international experts and testing methods arrived. The government shut Mexico City down, but kept the subways open, much to the bemusement of locals. "They should have closed the Metro, and cut down on vehicle traffic, too," says taxi driver Mariano Texis Texis. Instead, the government chose to shutter theaters, bars and restaurants. Calderón, for his part, has appeared aloof. For four days last week, he failed to appear in public, prompting one newspaper cartoonist to depict Mexico as a sinking ship and ask, "Where is the captain?" Then on May 5, the commemoration of the Mexican defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla, Calderón issued a fervent battle cry: "Today Mexico faces another threat, this time of a different type. Mexico has been on the battlefront, and here we have defended all humanity from the spreading of this virus." The Mexican public, though, tends to be cynical about such declarations, perhaps because they've heard it before. When the death toll from drug-related violence began to soar in 2008, Calderón insisted the drug cartels were on the defensive. When the economy plunged late last year, they repeatedly heard that everything would be OK. But drug-related violence is still up (not even the flu could stop the killings) and the economy is still down. Ironically, the PAN could get a fillip from a diplomatic tussle. China's quarantine of dozens of Mexican nationals over flu fears has led the administration to appeal to the United Nations and other bodies. When a plane that was sent to China to pick up the apparently mistreated Mexicans touched down in Mexico City on Wednesday, first lady Margarita Zavala was on hand to greet it. Calderón has played the xenophobia card before—most notably in his trips to the United States, where he's called attention to the poor treatment of Mexicans. Some analysts think the China spat could keep his poll numbers up and even bolster the party's prospects. "He has connected with the people's hypernationalistic sensitivities," says George Grayson, a longtime Mexico expert at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Distrust toward the government, however, is a big obstacle to overcome. Ninety-four percent of Mexicans surveyed in a poll this week don't know anyone who has been infected with the new strain of flu, leading many people to conclude that the outbreak was a concoction by the government to distract attention from the economy or the drug war. Whether Calderón can treat this fever may determine his ability to govern for the second half of his term. URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/196145
I personally can't understand where some people are getting off saying that the Mexican govt created the H1N1 scare in order to benefit politically. I see no logic in that one. But then people here do love their conspiracy theories, even the totally far-fetched and implausible ones.
RiverGirl If you are referring to me I am not saying the Mexican Govt created it by meaning fabricated it. I am saying the Mexican Govt shut down the country, thus giving the media something news worthy to report and feed on. Makes a great news story to see reporters in Mexico City and showing the sub-always shut down and basically the whole city closed. Had Mexico left it as business as normal and you saw people on and about their normal daily lives the media would not have as much to report. I can guarantee you the media would rather show images of people wearing masks and empty and closed malls then people in full malls and not wearing masks. Or deserted beaches in Cancun vs full beaches with crowds enjoying and having fun. So Yes the Mexican Govt led the way
My wife and I were in Cancun from May 2nd through May 8th, staying at the Royal Islander. We had a great time - but it also seemed like we had the whole place almost to ourselves! I was stunned at the lack of tourists. The vast majority of the people we met all said the same thing: "We can't believe anyone would cancel their trip here!" You could tell tourism is taking a beating though - our driver from the airport said 5 smaller hotels had to shut their doors and furlough their staff based on low occupancy rates. Our whole party (6 total) were among the first visitors to Chichen Itza when it reopened to the public on Thursday, and you could tell the vendors there were eager to make any deal they could. Items that would normally go for ten, twenty bucks? "Hey lady - one dollar!" they cried out to my wife. I'm hopeful that tourism will rebound for Mexico soon, but it appears most U.S. airlines are giving up on the market for the summer and early fall - schedule cutbacks and capacity adjustments have 30-50% of the seats being taken out of the market from airline to airline. So - if you're looking for a great vacation value and an amazing time you'll never forget, now's the time to visit Cancun!
I know a lot of people did not want to cancel their vacations but had them cancelled for them. Canadian military were told that travel to Mexico for vacations was not allowed. Canadian and American Nurses were told that if they went to Mexico upon their return they would have to spend 5 days at home without pay before they returned to work. British Tour Companies all cancelled their outbound flights leaving folks with no means to come. US Companies started talking about delays returning to work or screenings before returning to work for people that vacationed in Mexico. The problem stemmed from the initial reports out of Mexico City of 1,600 people infected and 250 dead from a new strain of flu. The reports stated that people in their 30's and 40's were dying and that is unusual for a normal flu. That's what got people started on the hysteria. Fast spreading highly deadly flu. If people would have stopped to think, Mexico City is 10 million people living on top of each other like NYC without the same level of infrastructure for all the residents. People die in Mexico City from illness everyday that wouldn't kill people in a city like NYC. So without the labs, as was mentioned, there was no true way to know what was killing the people but the flu was a possibility and if it was the flu then it was a really bad thing. The media, looking for headlines, ran with the story before they knew the story and here we are today. It bites because unlike a hurricane there will be no government influx of money to help anybody catch up. Everyone is on their own. So everyone needs to help their friends and families best they can. If you are a Tourist, pay it forward. Give a little larger tip this year so that the person taking care of you is around next year to do the same. Trust me, it all comes back around. Jamie
Jim my wife is an ICU Nurse and we are going June 9 and her employer did not tell her she has to stay home upon arrival back from Mexico and she works for one of the largest hospital chains in the USA
BVG_Steve - I was responding to the content of the article posted by Mixz1 and to all comments I've been hearing lately (mainly from Mexicans) that the govt did this on purpose. I believe the Mexican govt did the best it could given the ability of the labs here. And I believe that if they had better labs they wouldn't have scared the world so much at the beginning of this outbreak because their numbers would have been much lower. It's horrible what's happened to Mexican tourism. But Mexico has chosen to be a tourist destination, the govt developed Cancun for that purpose alone. I've repeatedly read that Mexico has more hotels rooms per capita than any other country. And tourism can be a fickle business, as this outbreak has shown us. Cancun and other Mexican tourist areas need other industries too, in order to make the economy more diverse. And Mexico needs better medical infrastructure so the govt here can respond to the next outbreak from a more informed perspective.
From the NYT - The Crisis Came. Mexico Didn’t Fail. Surprised? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/weekinreview/10rohter.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=mexico&st=cse
My wife and I are stuck between a rock and a hard place. She does day care for a living and a couple of the parents told her if she vacationed in Mexico (were planning on being there in July), they would not bring their children back. Over half her income, and these are children she's watched for several years, so she's pretty attached to them. We can't really afford the loss of income. We're undecided as of right now. We're trying to figure out what to say to the parents to convince them if we vacation in Mexico, we're not bringing swine flu home with us. THANKS FOR NOTHING DAMN MEDIA!
