Minutes after 7 a.m., President Andrés Manuel López Obrador left the National Palace, for the last time in his six-year term, to preside over the raising of the flag of the Zócalo of Mexico City at half-mast, in memory of those who died from the earthquakes that occurred on September 19, 1985 and 2017, and he did so accompanied by the president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum.
The president went out to the Plaza de la Constitución accompanied by the Secretary of the Interior, Luisa María Alcalde; the Secretary of Security, Rosa Icela Rodríguez; the Secretaries of National Defense and the Navy, Luis Cresencio Sandoval and José Rafael Ojeda Durán, respectively, as well as the Head of Government of Mexico City, Martí Batres.
During the raising of the flag, a war band sang the Song of the Flag and a minute of silence was observed; later, honors were paid to the national flag.
The event was also attended by the commander of the National Guard, David Cordova Campos, and Laura Velázquez Alzúa, head of the National Coordination for Citizen Protection, who will later lead the macro drill at 11:00 a.m.
In Mexico, September 19 is an unpleasant date, having suffered two earthquakes on the same day but in different years: 1985 and 2017.
The 1985 earthquake had a magnitude of 8.1 on the Richter scale, with its epicenter off the coast of Michoacán, and began at 7:17 a.m., although in Mexico City it was felt at 7:19 a.m. and lasted 2 minutes.
Seven years ago the magnitude was 7.1 on the Richter scale, but its intensity was greater due to the proximity to the epicenter, 12 kilometers southeast of Axochiapan, Morelos, on the border with the state of Puebla.
A third earthquake occurred on September 19, 2002, but despite its magnitude of 7.6, there was no damage or casualties.