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'Nothing to do with austerity drive', claims Mexican President after metro crash

WION Web Team
Mexico city, MexicoUpdated: May 06, 2021, 01:27 PM IST
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Photograph:(AFP)

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His statement has come after one of the metro labour unions accused the government of ignoring repeated warnings about damage to the overpass

After one of the deadliest metro crashes ever in Mexico, the country’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has denied any link between the crash and his austerity drive.

As the grieving families started burying their loved ones after the crash, Obrador denied accusations made at him by the employers' association Coparmex, who claim the crash took place due to ignorance of repeated warnings and major cuts in the maintenance budget.

"The metro maintenance has a sufficient budget. It's authorised by Mexico City's legislative assembly. What does that have to do with austerity?," he reacted and accused Coparmex of being a conservative opposition.

His statement has come after one of the metro labour unions accused the government of ignoring repeated warnings about damage to the overpass.

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“The workers are afraid, we have no guarantees,” union leader Jesus Urban told a local newspaper.

However, experts also think that the metro crash is now simply being used as a tool for political bashing.

The accident comes just a month before the June 6 midterm legislative elections in which Lopez Obrador's party aims to retain control of the lower house of Congress.

(With inputs from agencies)