ABSTRACT
The federal system in Mexico has responded in a relatively uncoordinated fashion to the health and economic crises caused by the spread of COVID-19. There are two significant structural reasons for this: the centralized, asymmetrical nature of the federal system, and the fragmentation of healthcare services. This chapter highlights the deep and long-lasting impact that COVID-19 will have on the economic and health crisis in Mexico. The ultimate crisis in the Mexican federation occurred at the beginning of September when ten governors left the National Conference of Governors, an organization created in the early 21st century to coordinate state governments’ actions when negotiating with the federal authorities on a variety of policy issues. In Mexico, there have been complex and close interactions between electoral politics on one hand, and the policies developed to contain contagions and to alleviate the economic effects of the pandemic on the other.
