Soaring Gas Prices Have Angered Citizens - and the Backlash Has Been Fierce Christopher Woody - Business Insider
go to original December 31, 2016

Mexican state oil company to launch country-wide 2017 gasoline price hikes (PressTV)

On December 27, days after gasoline shortages closed gas stations and caused immense lines at others, the Mexican government announced that gasoline and diesel prices would go up by between 14% and 20% over the next year.

The price increases come as part of a planned liberalization of Mexico's energy market, which involves the move from subsidies that kept gas prices low to a market-based pricing scheme that will adjust prices at the pump more frequently.

The public backlash to these price increases has been swift. Critics have inveighed against President Enrique Pena Nieto, with a leftist opposition leader calling for a "peaceful revolution" that would include gas station boycotts.

Many people have said they'd hoard gasoline, buying it from stations that in many states are already dealing with supply shortages. Illegal gas sales have popped up, and protests have already taken place in some parts of the country, with more planned for January 1.

On social media, criticism has been leveled against the government officials behind the price increases. In the image below, Jose Antonio Meade, the finance ministry chief behind the move, is portrayed as a "chupasangre," or "bloodsucker."

Read the rest at Business Insider

Related: Mexico Plunges Into Fresh Crisis as Fury Swells Over Gas Prices (teleSUR)

Related: Mexico's Rising Gas Prices Could Make American Border Gasoline More Expensive (KVIA)

Related: Long Gas Lines, Price Hike Mar Holiday Season in Mexico (Associated Press)

Related: Mexicans Plan Protests Over New Year Fuel Price Hike (Agence France-Presse)

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