Mexico City, Mexico — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says it will cost more than 61 billion pesos to rebuild Acapulco after Hurricane Otis. On Wednesday, he reported that the Government of Mexico will invest more than 61.3 billion pesos in the reconstruction of Acapulco and Coyuca de Benítez, the two most affected places.
He says the rebuild will be conducted under the General Plan for reconstruction and support for the affected population. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador presented the plan Wednesday with members of the Cabinet.
“It is an approximation and, if more is required, we will expand the budget. (…) The message is that those affected, the victims, are not alone. They have the support of the people of Mexico who are always very fraternal, very supportive and of course, with the support of the government,” he emphasized at the beginning of the morning press conference.
The Secretary of Finance and Public Credit, Rogelio Ramírez de la O, indicated that the financing will cover the 17 projects of the General Plan for reconstruction and support for the population affected in Acapulco and Coyuca de Benítez by Hurricane Otis.
Some of those planned projects include financial support for affected families, the creation of 10,000 paid jobs to youth to help clean and repair hurricane damage, six month deferred payments to Infonavit, Fovissste and IMSS, free electricity until February of 2024 and the regular delivery of boxes of basic food items each week to more than 250,000 families.
He said taxes, Value Added Tax (VAT), Income Tax (ISR) and others, will be exempt in Acapulco and Coyuca de Benítez until February of 2024.
The plan also includes a one-time amount of 8,000 pesos to clean and repaint homes to preapproved effected families as well as a package of household goods consisting of a bed, stove, refrigerator, fan and set of dishes.
AMLO says the federal government will allocate 10 billion pesos from this year’s public budget for the supply and improvement of water distribution lines, drainage, street repairs, public lighting, hospitals, schools, the two airports and other services.
All the reconstruction work of Acapulco and Coyuca de Benítez will be coordinated by Luisa María Alcalde Luján, Secretary of the Interior, and Evelyn Salgado Pineda, constitutional Governor of Guerrero.
President López Obrador recognized the people of Guerrero “that, despite their affections and sadness, they have not lost faith. “They continue fighting for life and together we will soon, very soon, manage to put the beautiful and nostalgic Port of Acapulco back on its feet.”
