Flag at half-mast for victims of 9/19 in 1985 and 2017

Mexico City. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum led the ceremony yesterday morning to raise the flag at half-mast in the capital’s Zócalo to honor the memory of the victims of the earthquakes of 1985 and 2017.

Gallery: Flag at half-mast and offerings in memory of victims of the earthquakes of 1985 and 2017

Both left the National Palace escorted by the Secretaries of National Defense, Luis Cresencio Sandoval; of the Navy, José Rafael Ojeda; of Security, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, and of the Interior, Luisa María Alcalde; as well as the General Commissioner of the National Guard, David Córdova; the Head of Government, Martí Batres; the Coordinator of Civil Protection, Laura Velázquez, and Carlos Freaner, President of the Red Cross.

Upon arriving in front of the monumental flag, at 7:19 sharp, the raising of the national flag began, a ceremony attended by public servants who have participated in the reconstruction of homes, hospitals, schools and temples that were damaged by the earthquakes of 1985 and 2017.

To honor the memory of those who lost their lives, the war band and the choir of the Secretariat of National Defense played the military call of silence.

At the end, the National Anthem was sung, after which López Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum returned to the National Palace. Along the way, some of the attendees greeted him with slogans: “It is an honor to be with Obrador! We love you, President! Thank you, President!”

Before entering the National Palace, the federal president stopped, greeted from afar and thanked the citizens for their gesture.