With the return to the yellow traffic light, the Mexican capital completely reopens its economy, with the incorporation of the establishment sector, made up of bars, canteens and nightclubs since the latter businesses remained closed for more than a year and a half.

According to the website of the Government of Mexico City, the yellow traffic light indicates that there will be more activities but with caution to move towards the possibility of a green traffic light that would indicate that we could fully exit, but with caution and prevention.

Obviously, the first gradual and now total return is followed by a series of mandatory access control measures to detect specific cases that can spread infections combined with capacity limitations for each specific activity.

Already on Monday, May 10, the capital authorities announced the yellow traffic light for the first time, but they had to return to orange at the end of the month due to the number of infections that were monitored.

With the orange traffic light, the maximum capacity allowed for offices was 20%. There, the permanent use of the face mask, the application of sanitary filters upon admission and maintaining a healthy distance by supporting the use of screens was mandatory.

Check here: Progress of the office projects announced by the CDMX government in Reform

The access of third parties was controlled and the meetings in offices had to be coordinated by appointment without offering food or drinks or food, and limiting to 6 people who could be gathered. Minimizing the ability to share objects also remained a priority.

With the entry of the yellow traffic light, for the second time, the allowed capacity could now be 80% although the rest of the precautionary measures to avoid contagions will continue to be required.

However, above the punitive issue, companies have incentives to comply with the mandatory regulations, since contagion among their collaborators would bring a significant setback to the progress achieved.

With a year and four months after the red light, the vast majority of companies have rearranged their activities, and made rational decisions based on the use of their spaces.

If the rental contracts expired and the spaces would not be used, they were handed over to their owners, so we have a level of unemployment in the capital, just in the month of August of almost 54 thousand square meters.

This data becomes interesting if we analyze the proportion of unemployment with respect to gross demand. By the end of 2Q 2021, unemployment represented 73% of the gross demand for the period.

Of interest: Technology supports return to face-to-face work in offices

So far in 3Q 2021, the months of July and August have registered unemployment in the order of 36% of gross demand, an amount that indicates that the gap has been decreasing.

In general terms, the demand for corporate space has been significantly affected, registering a contraction of 65% if we compare figures at the end of 2Q 2021 with 2Q 2019, the period prior to the pandemic.

It is precisely this contraction in activity that has allowed the development of multiple options to find a way out of unoccupied spaces. The same capital government accompanies with policies of change of use to projects previously exclusive for corporate use and that can now be inserted into the dynamics of demand for homes, hospitals or hotels.

The offices as the center of corporate life will adjust to the paradigm shift that has fostered the pandemic and together with the need of employees to rescue the healthy division of their work and personal life, they will have another opportunity to redefine themselves and survive what is to come .

Mexico has the technology, the committed staff, and the incentivized developers to make this a reality in the months to come