Post COVID-19: Urban Guarantees

A society runs primarily on two circuits of replication: the economic, for subsistence, and the social, for reproduction. In a situation like the present one, both circuits are disrupted to varying degrees. Mexico is a country where 56.7% (INEGI-12/20) of employment is informal, and where 22.5% of GDP is generated informally. The crucial point, however, is that Mexico, unlike other developing countries, is highly urbanized: 80%. Any serious rethinking of how our society operates must therefore start in the cities.

Mexico City has centuries of tradition in building institutions through dialogue, some more liberal, others more conservative, depending on the era. The current reality demands we confront what can no longer wait: rethinking what we want as a society in our city. That rethinking could well trigger a national reinterpretation of social, economic, and political equilibria. But where to begin?

Urbanity is the expression of an intense concentration of human interactions in a condensed space. A city is the place where those interactions produce agreements, and those agreements manifest in the physical construction of the city itself. What could those minimum agreements look like, grounded in Mexico City's long tradition of historical solidarity? Four minimum urban guarantees: water and sanitation, universal health care, housing, and paid work.

The last of these may seem obvious, though in these times it is anything but. Global economic contractions show that jobs, as the primary means of subsistence, are set to shrink, according to estimates from international organizations and GDP measurements alike. France offers a stark example: contractions of more than 20% in a single quarter. Creating the conditions for those who can operate and those who want to do so is not a task for the state or the private sector in isolation. It requires a joint mechanism that guarantees health safety, contract fulfillment with international counterparts, and a positive business climate to sustain existing investment. Questioning current operations and thinking about simplification, from a fiscal standpoint to prioritizing collective employment protection over individual protections, is a matter of urban survival.

In parallel, access to clean drinking water and sanitation-related services (drainage, garbage collection, and personal protective equipment) is necessary to keep functioning. We should not lose sight of the high concentrations of COVID-19 in fecal matter, and the fact that in Mexico there are still areas with open sewers and insufficient water to run basic sanitation systems. Guaranteeing these basic services will cut off a key transmission vector for the pandemic.

Perhaps the most compelling of all four guarantees is the consolidation of a single universal health system for cities. Drawing on the examples of service platforms like Uber, Airbnb, and others, it is possible to reimagine how the public health system could operate. Standardizing protocols, capacities, and specialization across existing physical infrastructure and highly specialized personnel would produce systems of far greater capacity. The emphasis here is on capacity, not resource savings. At this moment, having capacity matters more than procurement efficiency. The two are not mutually exclusive, but we must sequence them: first expand and optimize capacities, then minimize costs through global cooperation schemes, much like the supply model from which Mexico benefits through China.

In terms of building a single public health safety net, one need only look at European countries, where savings are not only financial but psychological: populations feel backed and protected by their government. The contingency spending that families absorb each time a health incident occurs generates costs at the aggregate level, for both the economy and the human dignity of Mexicans. This is why the question is not only about the state's budget or individual pockets. It is about creating conditions in which something as basic as a child's dehydration, and something as complex and feared as COVID-19 treatment, leaves citizens feeling protected.

As a corollary: the Mexican state has the capacity to reinvent itself today more than ever. From the opportunity presented by a government willing to question what it inherited, to the COVID-19 crisis itself, the need for state, academia, the private sector, and civil society to act in concert has never been more evident. Only by demonstrating that this coordination is possible, driven perhaps by the sheer scale of the COVID-19 catastrophe, will it be feasible to urgently redesign these minimum guarantees, restoring hope and recovering the dignity of the urban citizen.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the four minimum urban guarantees proposed in this article?

Water and sanitation, universal health care, housing, and paid work. The article argues these form the floor of any viable post-pandemic social compact for Mexico City.

Why does the analysis start with cities rather than the national level?

Mexico is 80% urbanized, making cities the primary locus of social and economic reproduction. With 56.7% informal employment and 22.5% of GDP generated informally, the urban fabric is where disruption is most acute and where structural redesign must begin.

How would a unified public health system benefit Mexico's cities?

By standardizing protocols and specialization across existing infrastructure and personnel, a single system would prioritize capacity over cost efficiency, which is the correct sequencing during a pandemic. Cost optimization through global cooperation schemes comes after capacity is secured.