• CLOSED: Around 3,000 firms in the Mexican construction sector went bust during April after not being able to survive the coronavirus shock and 1,000 more could close their doors for good in the coming weeks, according to Mexico’s national construction chamber (CMIC).
• NONESSENTIAL: The construction industry was not included among essential activities when the Mexican government declared a national health emergency on March 30th. This meant that all construction firms had to shut down operations. The declaration was extended until May 30th.
• OFFICES: “There are firms that carry out projects, others that perform construction supervision, others involved in maintenance. Some may perhaps be saved, but others are closing”, said Marco Antonio Fernández, an architecture researcher at the UPAEP university in the city of Puebla.
• UNIVERSE: According Mexico’s statistics agency (INEGI), there are close to 18,000 construction firms across the country. The state with with the largest number of construction firms is Mexico City which coincidentally is also the area with the largest coronavirus outbreak.
