After angry residents protested several times in front of the governor’s palace, Yucatan’s treasury followed through on its promises Monday and began distributing financial aid door to door.
The unemployment funds, delivered by hand, support families of 46,800 Yucatecans in the face of a coronavirus contingency, said state officials. Direct deposit is impossible for the thousands of residents who have no bank accounts and have no economic cushion to pay for necessities when income dries up.
On this first day, this support was delivered to beneficiaries in Tekax, Tzucacab, Peto, Oxkutzcab, Tixméhuac, Tadziuh, Ticul, Maní, Teabo, Cantamayec, Mama, Mayapán, Chumayel, Dzan, Chacsinkín, Akil, Progreso, Dzemul, Hoctún, Izamal, Teya, Ixil, Telchac Puerto, Mocochá, Yaxkukul, Tixpéhual, Tepakán and Tekal de Venegas. It will take several days to cover all 106 municipalities, officials said.
On the instructions of Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal, state government brigades are traveling throughout the state to send 2,500 pesos per month, during April and May, to the homes of the beneficiaries.
This is complemented by four food support packages that, during these two months, will reach each home in the interior of the state.
The mayor of Progreso, Julián Zacarías Curi, said Monday that at least 12 beneficiaries are being investigated for possibly falsifying their applications for aid.
“We are still a relatively small society, we know each other and I find it extremely unfair and even immoral that there are people who have applied for inclusion in the program when some, and I omit names out of respect, have proven and public economic capacity,” he said.
Other residents complained they were unable to sign up online for the benefits because of a short window of opportunity in which the web site froze or crashed several times.
Vila Dosal, on April 9, proposed to federal government officials that Mexico match the funds that states funnel to needy households, doubling the budget, but the idea has fallen on deaf ears.
Unemployment payouts are intended for heads of families who have lost their jobs, who do not have permanent jobs or are self-employed and are being economically affected by the health emergency. It is part of a broader 234-million-peso economic rescue package to mitigate the shutdown that has decimated the flow of money in Yucatan.
“We have had a very hard time because my work is one of those where you work today and eat tomorrow,” said Izamal, Clarita de los Ángeles Mejía, of Izamal, who received her April benefits. “It is not a permanent job, nor a company that even gives you the minimum wage. We are living daily; if you work today, you eat tomorrow, if not, no, and I have a girl with autism and I need to buy her medications.”
The brigades followed the sanitary protocols, such as using face masks and gloves, and keeping a healthy distance from the beneficiaries.
