The Federal Government of Mexico has used all available tools to cope with the contingency of flu outbreak and took aggressive measures to restore economy confidence, the Finance Secretary said Tuesday at a press conference.

Agustin Carstens, the Finance Secretary, mentioned that Federal Government will implement emergency economic measures to mitigate the impact of the Influenza A (H1N1) epidemic on the country's economic activity.

These measures will cover various areas including tax revenue measures, general tax measures, benefits for firms and specific sectors. said the Secretary.

As part of the general tax measures, he said that in May and June, there will be a 20% discount in employers' quotas for the Mexican Social Security Institute.

As for the specific sectors mostly severely affected by the contingency namely: hotel, restaurant and entertainment business, Dr. Carstens said that Federal Government will contribute 25% of the exemptions granted by states to pay roll taxes and taxes on tourists in hotel accommodation for a period of 3 months, equivalent to 1.9 billion pesos in support.

In the aviation industry, from April to June, 50% discounts will be provided on navigation service duties in Mexican air space. And cruise ships will be exempted from 50% of the payment of duties to the Harbor Master's Office and Extraordinary Migratory Service from May to June.

And a tourist promotion fund will also be established, with an initial amount of 200 million pesos, which may be increased as required. he added.

He stressed at last that the Federal Government has taken all available measures to ensure the economy's swift recovery.

Mexico