many mexicans (including most of my students) have been frustrated with the confusing leadership provided by president andrés manuel lopez obrador at the beginning of the global coronavirus pandemic. the headline of this article by kate linthicum sarcastically presents an example from lopez obrador’s mañanera last wednesday…

Amid growing coronavirus threat, Mexico’s president says he’s putting trust in good-luck charms

amid means in the middle of. a threat is imminent danger. trust is having confidence in or believing. good luck charms are objects that bring good luck or protect.

one of the good-luck charms protecting president lopez obardor is a u.s. $2 bill (informador.mx,ntx/ j. lira)

cool efl practice richyrocks english on youtube

lopez obrador is not the only leader in the region who has tried to minimize the significance of covid-19…

[lopez obrador’s] stance has drawn comparisons to that of president trump, who for weeks downplayed the risk of coronavirus in the u.s., as well as to brazilian president jair bolsonaro, who recently dismissed extreme measures to contain the disease as “hysteria.”

stance is position. draw means make. NOTICE: the word in english is comparison, NOT comparation— a very common and awful spanglish. downplay means underestimate. as well as means also. dismiss means ignore. hysteria is basically the same word in english and spanish, but make sure to pronounce the h in english like def leppard does in their well-known song.

amlo has been criticized for not taking the risk of the pandemic seriously enough…

in recent weeks, as mexico’s neighbors to the north and south have restricted air travel and closed schools and businesses to slow the spread of the coronavirus, mexican president andrés manuel lópez obrador has nonchalantly portrayed his country as one on the sidelines of the global health crisis.

spread means movement, advance. nonchalantly means calmly, casually. portray is represent. on the sidelines means not participating.

nfl mvp lamar jackson relaxing on the sideline

lopez obrador’s nonchalant attitude has been in the face of negative economic indicators as well…

he has remained defiant even as the peso tumbles to a historic low amid growing concerns about the impact of the virus and mounting fears of a global recession.

defiant means rebellious. even as emphasizes that the president’s defiant attitude is happening at exactly the same time that the peso is losing value. tumble indicates a drastic fall. mounting means growing. and make sure u are pronouncing virus correctly. the word is identical in english and spanish. but in english u need to distinguish between the sound of v and b, pronounce the i like the word eye and the the u using the shwuh sound, listen to how it’s pronounced in this popular song by martin garrix…

what has amlo’s government done to be ready for the consequences of covid-19? they have…

set aside some $150 million dollars for the purchase of additional medical supplies so that it can treat patients of an outbreak……[but] beyond ramping up spending on medial supplies, lópez obrador has not proposed any major financial measures to shore up the country’s cratering economy.

set aside means reserve. outbreak is a big increase, referring here to coronavirus cases. beyond is more than or further, ramp up means increase. measures are actions or steps. shore up means support. crater means fail.

movies where the u.s. government saves the world, frequently from a problem created by the u.s. government itself, are called gringadas. outbreak is a gringada.

linthicum explains that mexicans are conscious of the economic ramifications of a pandemic…

during the 2009 swine flu epidemic…authorities shut down schools, businesses and other aspects of daily life in the nation’s capital and other parts of the country. the disease was contained within weeks, but the economic disruption lingered. mexico’s economy contracted 5% in 2009.

swine is an adjective used to refer to pigs. shut down means close. within means inside the range of. linger means the economic issues stayed after the health issue was resolved. contract means get smaller.

swine flu was also known as the h1n1 virus

there are major concerns that mexico’s economy will suffer this year the way it did in 2009…

monarch global strategies, which advises companies in cross-border trade [said that] while the mexican government is beginning to focus on the healthcare aspects of the crisis, it seems quite unconcerned with the economic tsunami that is headed its way,

advise means recommend, guide. trade is commerce, business. quite varies depending on the context it is used in and the tone it is expressed with. in this case, it means very. unconcerned means not worried. focus is a difficult word to pronounce. click here to hear it pronounced correctly. head as a verb means going in that direction. it is used in the second line of elton john‘s classic daniel:

daniel is travelling tonight on a plane, i can see the red taillights heading for spain

what is your opinion about mexico’s presidential leadership in this time of crisis? share it under leave a reply