The pandemic crisis has left multiple impacts in its path. One of the most affected sectors has been that of small businesses, commonly called “little stores”, which have had to overcome great challenges, the most important of which, without a doubt, has been surviving economic adversity, since it is one of the first to resent any variation in the purchasing power of Mexicans.
Small businesses are a bastion for the economy, since they generate hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and support millions of people in all corners of the country. We all have a little store very close to our home or our places of work, we have known the owners and their relatives who support them in taking care of it all our lives. It was precisely these businesses that, during the most critical moments of the pandemic, continued to supply us for our daily and essential consumption, making an extraordinary effort and taking risks to continue offering their warm service.
From the National Association of Producers of Soft Drinks and Carbonated Waters (ANPRAC) we have been aware of the importance of caring for this sector. For this reason and in the face of the health emergency, the companies that make up the Mexican beverage industry, together with the three orders of government, design and implement different actions and strategies to avoid job losses, not only in the 120 plants and 415 distribution centers. that make up the infrastructure network of this industry, but throughout the value chain, particularly in small businesses. Our associates made and continue to make important efforts to support them, such as the more than 190,000 credits granted to these small businesses to reactivate their economy and the more than 500,000 personal protective equipment for those who work in them.
It is important to highlight the great effort that the federal government made in supporting small businesses through credits to the word, which gave a respite and in many cases prevented them from literally lowering the curtain, with the firm conviction that keeping active These businesses also contribute to generating better citizenship and recovering the social fabric by fostering relations between neighbors, as well as generating more commercial exchange in the area and seeking local employment.
The pandemic has left us great lessons, but a fundamental one that I allow myself to underline is that only by working together, in a coordinated and constructive manner, the public, private and social sectors of the country, will we be able to overcome the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities to accelerate the reactivation economy and promote the inclusive and sustainable development that our beloved Mexico requires. That is our best bet, which requires the openness, will and effort of everyone.
We are convinced that building collaboration bridges between companies, the government and society strengthens us and, without a doubt, we will achieve better results to improve the quality of life of Mexican families.
*The author is General Director of the National Association of Producers of Soft Drinks and Carbonated Waters (ANPRAC).