Alex has been two weeks without a job. The health emergency was declared due to the covid-19 pandemic, on March 31, when the man who gave him a bill for driving his taxi asked for the vehicle.
"He rented the car, and he wanted to secure the monthly payment because he has not finished paying it. The trips dropped two weeks before when schools and universities suspended classes, and little by little, the first cases began to appear in Mexico. In Europe, the cases increased exponentially, "he told La Silla Rota.
From being able to earn up to 4 thousand pesos a week in that vehicle that was subscribed to Uber, later, he barely made thousand pesos, and now without a job, he has run out of resources.
He tried returning to work for Uber, but the platform only serves active operators who have a claim, and hiring drivers has been suspended. He could work in Didi, but Alex considered that with the reduction of trips and the excess of commissions, it doesn''t suit him.
He has tried to manage unemployment insurance with the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion of Mexico City, where they offer monthly support of 3,746 pesos (equivalent to the minimum wage) for three months. Still, every time he tries to do the online process, the page appears to collapse.
Where he lives, there is a possibility of working in a Bodega Aurrerá, where he could even have benefits. But he would have to be in contact with more people. This situation would put him at risk since he has diabetes. So he belongs to a vulnerable sector of the population to the Coronavirus. Her sister and her nephews asked him to go there better not.
When asked how he has managed to support himself in these two weeks, he replied that it has been through some one-day jobs and that he received financial help from a relative who sent him $ 100 (2,367 pesos at the exchange rate for this year) on April 13.
After hearing social isolation could last until the end of May, he decided to sell his car, which has been broken since the beginning of the year. It is an Aveo, and he already found a buyer. A measure that hurts him, because he has to sell it cheaper, but he needs money, and he does not see that he can find a job amid a crisis due to the covid-19.
If I don't have a job, it is better to sell it and get out of this problem. I'm going to have to sell the car how it is. The car between 65 thousand and 70 thousand pesos, as it is (broken down from the gearbox), gives you around 30 thousand because it is automatic
-How do you see the future?
- Quite difficult, the coworkers who drive on the route only bring 150 or 200 pesos.
Traducción: Valentina K. Yanes
(María José Pardo)