Local leaders resist Mexico president's push for reopening

Local governments across Mexico pushed back Monday against President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador's call to reopen the economy in some 300 townships that do not have active cases of coronavirus, with leaders saying they preferred to wait until June before resuming normal activities.

Mexico, which has reported nearly 50,000 total cases and some 5,000 deaths, has seen a steep climb in new infections. Front-line doctors fear that a premature reopening could lead to a second wave of infections a scenario that recently played out in Chile and Guatemala, where governments had to roll back reopening plans.

But Lpez Obrador has been pushing to reactivate the economy. In addition to opening virus-free communities, his health advisers have said that the mining, construction and automotive industries could resume operations as early as Monday.

The country's lockdown which began in March will remain in place, but those industries will be allowed to return to production because Mexico's top advisory body on the pandemic, the General Health Council, had decided to classify them as essential activities. Today productive social activity has already started to open where it was agreed, and they can start classes,