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| - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday defended his handling of the pandemic-stricken economy after official figures confirmed a record plunge in gross domestic product. The country's economy, the second largest in Latin America after Brazil's, contracted by 17.1 percent in the second quarter of the year from the previous quarter, the national statistics institute said in an updated estimate. That represented only a slight improvement from the 17.3 percent drop it reported last month in a preliminary snapshot. Year-on-year, GDP fell 18.7 percent, the institute said Wednesday. Some analysts have criticized Lopez Obrador for not spending more to boost the economy, particularly the private sector, in the face of the coronavirus outbreak. The leftist leader says his priority is helping ordinary Mexicans with social aid and loans. "Contrary to the opinions of many, we decided to support from below, instead of above, directly giving support to the people," he told reporters, adding that such measures would boost consumer spending. Mexico has registered 61,450 coronavirus deaths -- the world's third-highest fatality toll, after the United States and Brazil. The government imposed lockdown measures at the end of March and started gradually reopening the economy in June. sem-dr/bbk
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