At 7:19 a.m., President Enrique Peña Nieto ordered to lower the monumental Mexican flag , in the Zócalo , to half-mast , in memory of the victims of the 1985 earthquake.
During this brief ceremony , which only lasted 8 minutes, the President was joined by Mexico City's mayor , José Ramón Amieva , and by the National Security Cabine t, led by the Internal Affairs Minister, Alfonso Navarrete Prida , and the Minister and General of the National Defense Ministry, Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda , and the Minister and Admiral of the Marine Corps, Vidal Francisco Soberón.
According to the protocol, the President activated the mechanism that lifted the flag to the highest part of the mast, and then lowered it to the middle, as a sign of mourning .
A military band played a tap and then the national anthem.
Peña Nieto
broke with protocol and approached the Civil Protection personnel and the rescuers who attended the ceremony that took place in the Plaza de la Constitución.
Peña Nieto
returned to the Palacio Nacional without talking to the press.
This year, as part of the drill , at 13:14 hours, there will be a minute of silence , and later, at 13:16:40 hours, the seismic alert will be activated to carry out a retract and evacuate procedure.
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