With Rising Prices in Mexico, Pena Nieto Could Face a Tortilla Rebellion teleSUR
go to original January 14, 2017

An employee weighs tortillas outside Granada market in Mexico City (Reuters)

Surging fuel prices in Mexico have caused financial speculation on maize that is causing inflated prices for corn tortillas, a sacred daily staple in Mexicans' diet.

In seven out of 10 cities tortillas have had an increase of 5 percent reaching 80 cents per kilogram in a country where the daily minimum wage is US$3.8 and where nearly half the population lives in poverty.

Tortilla prices are an index for economists and sociologists in Mexico, especially because not being able to afford the corn tortillas daily is unthinkable for millions of people.



The government denies that the recent 20 percent increase in fuel prices has triggered inflation on food prices and have blamed the unstoppable slide of the Mexican peso against the dollar, a trend sparked by fears that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s protectionist agenda will wreak havoc on Mexico’s economy.

Analysts warn that inflation will further enrage millions of Mexicans who have been protesting since the beginning of the year against the neoliberal policies of President Enrique Peña Nieto.

Protests in some cases have turned violent, unleashing a wave of lootings that have left four dead and thousands of arrested people.

Read the rest at teleSUR

Related: Anger as Mexicans Fear Higher Food Prices to Follow Gasoline Hike (Reuters)

Related: PRD Provides Legal Aid Against 'Gasolinazo' (The News)

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