Short thread about this story below. We heard from a radio report this week that Mexico was running out of death certificates due to Covid (and a bureaucratic screw up). wsj.com/articles/coron…
We confirmed the story. Then we called the Health Ministry and the coronavirus czar @HLGatell for comment on Thursday morning. They said they were working on it, and would get back to us.
We waited to publish until we heard back. Important for us to hear their side of the story. Then, on Friday evening, @HLGatell talks about the issue at his news conference, essentially scooping us and spinning the issue how he wants.
Most companies and governments do not do this because it leads journalists to mistrust them and publish without seeking comment, which is wrong.
The only other times this has happened to me in my career are with the Venezuelan gov’t and Grupo Salinas. Draw your own conclusions.
