Ayotzinapa Families and Classmates Take Over Gas Station Against 'Gasolinazo' teleSUR
go to original March 13, 2017

The family members and classmates of the 43 missing student-teachers said the protest was both against the gas hike and government corruption (Photo: Reuters)

Loved ones of the 43 student-teachers that disappeared in Ayotzinapa took over a gas station in central Mexico City to protest soaring gas prices despite abundant supply in an ongoing series of occupations and blockades termed the “gasolinazo.”

Mexico’s Ministry of Finance announced at the beginning of the year that gasoline prices would jump by 20.1 percent and diesel prices by 16.5 percent at the beginning of 2017 as years of state-regulated fuel prices come to an end. While the price dropped by a few cents last month — less than analysts said it should have dropped according to the policy — it remains at roughly the equivalent of 12 days of a minimum wage to fill a tank of gas.

Parents, family members and classmates crowded the station until Saturday afternoon without disturbance or police interventions. The students graffitied the station, broke gas pumps and tried to give away free gas, but the owner had cut off supply. Instead, they handed out fuel additives and other car supplements, reported La Jornada.

The 43 students — from the largely Indigenous teachers' college renowned for its activism — were on their way to a protest in Mexico City when they were pulled over by local police on Sept. 26, 2014. They have been missing ever since.

In the two years since the disappearance the parents, as well as several independent investigations, have uncovered evidence which not only challenges the official government claim that the students were murdered by a local drug gang, but also points to levels of state involvement in the disappearances.

Read the rest at teleSUR

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