Sheinbaum deploys a peculiar civilian army to help with storm devastation

MXPE Weekly Essentials ft. bank accused of laundering dissolved, the cost of pipeline punctures, and other highlights in Mexican politics, policy, and markets from the past week.

MXPE Weekly Essentials. Only the most important news in Mexican politics, policy, and markets from the past week.

Uncharted Mexico: Boots on the ground

Record breaking rain across central Mexico has devastated communities, principally in the states of Veracruz, Hidalgo, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, and Puebla.

The government deployed the armed forces in the role it was most famous for before the War on Drugs. The DN-3-D Plan moves troops to devastated areas to bring food, water, and medicines. This time is was 6,000 from the Army and 3,000 Marines.

What has stood out has been the presence of thousands of Servidores de la Nación (Servants of the Nation). Created in the administration prior to Claudia Sheinbaum’s but aggressively expanded under her government, this army of 20,000 social workers are the State’s eyes and ears on the ground. They inform citizens of social programmes they are entitled to and often point the government where they can find them, in cases such as providing healthcare to the elderly or disabled.