The Pentagon wants Mexico to open some of its manufacturing companies to support the supply chain for defense companies in the United States.

Ellen Lord, a defense undersecretary, said they found global dependencies. Many U.S. defense firms rely on Mexican suppliers for materials. Aerospace defense giants such as Boeing and Textron rely on Mexican production.

The companies are essential to the country's airframe production. An increase in the production of items needed ensures the government gets long-term industrial capacity.

The COVID-19 crisis has affected the Pentagon. The defense industry in the commercial aviation sector is experiencing a supply shock and a demand shock. Airline companies do not have enough finances to order to take deliveries of previously ordered airplanes.

Many firms in the supply chain are also suppliers for commercial aviation. Mexico is one of the top suppliers to the U.S. aerospace sector. The lockdown measures hampered the production of products, including avionics, landing gear, and fuselages. Mexico's defense exports grew over the last 15 years, leading many defense firms to open production facilities in the country.

In the U.S., only a few of Pentagon's suppliers closed due to the global pandemic. Subsectors such as aviation and small space launch are the hardest hit by distancing measures imposed to fight the spread of the virus.

The Pentagon is using the previous month's stimulus of $250 million to bolster defense firms. It also plans to funnel more than $750 million for essential medical resources.

Tug of War

The Mexican government recently pledged to reopen factories vital to the U.S. economy on Monday. Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his decision came after business people started borrowing from lending agencies.

Under pressure from the U.S. government, Mexico announced reopening automotive plants in a gradual process. The Foreign Relations Department will reportedly issue more details of the plan, including health safeguards, in the coming week.

Factory workers in Ciudad Juarez organized a protest in answer to the recent announcement after several factory workers died from COVID-19. Mariana, an employee at a U.S.-owned motor factory, said a colleague who had a high fever was sent home. He died a week later.

Mariana also said many others are now experiencing concerning symptoms in the factories along the border. Inside the assembly plants, employees are not observing proper distancing measures. She said employers crowd workers on only one assembly line when the other machine malfunctions.

In an electrical goods company, employees also held a strike. The plant's staff believes their work is not "essential" as they produce refrigerators, stoves, and washing machines---goods, they say, no one would buy at this time.

Official reports showed 13 factory workers have died from COVID-19. Activists believe the actual figures maybe three times as high as what is officially recorded.

Susana Prieto, a well-known workers' rights supporter, said factories had disobeyed the strict guidelines imposed by the Mexican government. "They only started to close once bodies started dropping in front of their eyes."

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