Mexico, a nation of 120 million, with about half of that living in poverty, and 60 percent relying on unregistered businesses, is preparing for a spike in coronavirus cases.

On Tuesday, the government moved the country to "Phase Three," the most serious stage of the pandemic, when the coronavirus is meant to accelerate through the country.

As of April 23, it had 10,554 confirmed cases with 970 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. But Reuters reported that the government estimated there were about 55,951 cases across the country.

As Mexico entered stage three, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said: "I want to give a guarantee... that we Mexicans are going to be able to overcome this crisis. We are going to win together."

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Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who faced criticism early on in the pandemic for hugging and kissing his fans instead of social distancing, told reporters on Tuesday: "We are prepared to confront the most difficult moment."

He said this as the nation of 120 million people entered "Phase Three," its most serious level for dealing with the coronavirus. Phase one was beginning to prepare, phase two was putting in safety measures, like banning nonessential activities. Phase three is when the coronavirus accelerates through the country, according to the Los Angeles Times.

As of April 23, it had 10,554 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 970 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. But Reuters reported on Thursday that a government's mathematical model estimated there were 55,951 cases across the country.

Mexico has been handling the coronavirus differently from much of the world. Along with the president defending hugging, Hugo López-Gatell, the man who's leading Mexico's coronavirus response, said as recently as April 17, he still wasn't sure how bad the coronavirus really is.

Mexico's economy has been a major factor, leading authorities to keep its borders open, and refusing to enforce a national lockdown. Mexico has also done little testing compared with other nations. As of March 31, it tested 65 people per million inhabitants, compared to the US which has tested 2,250 people per million, according to The Washington Post.

Here's how Mexico got to the point is it at now and what could come next.