MEXICO CITY, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The two major earthquakes which struck Mexico in September will only have a limited impact on the country's growth, Mexican Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said on Friday.
"We don't think that the macroeconomic projections will be modified by the disasters. We believe it will not have a material impact on growth in 2017 and 2018," said Meade at a press conference.
In its budget proposal for 2018, the Ministry of Finance estimated Mexico would grow by 2-2.6 percent this year and by 2-3 percent in 2018.
According to Meade, the government has been making important efforts to increase the budget available for earthquake recovery, including for urgent reconstruction.
The number of dead from the 7.1 earthquake on September 19 has climted to 355, including 214 in Mexico City.
The previous earthquake, measuring 8.4 on September 7, shook the southern part of the country and killed 98 people in the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco.
"The challenges we are facing certainly put the countries to the test, put civil society to the test, and put the government to the test. This precise case has not been an exception," explained Meade.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto estimated Wednesday that the recovery for the two quakes would cost 38.15 billion pesos (2.12 billion U.S. dollars).
