User:I like tortillas/sandbox

Protests over the price of gasoline in Mexico in 2017

Gasoline dispatcher showing price increase in January 2017.

The protests in Mexico due to the gasoline refer to the actions of rejection towards the increase of the gasoline price in Mexico at the beginning of 2017.

Background

At the beginning of Enrique Enrique Pena Nieto's presidency he presented an initiative named energetic reform in which he proposed the modification of the structure that has to do with the theme of hydrocarbons in order to make his sale more competitive and reduce the price to home users.

On October 26, 2016 the Congress of the Mexican Union approved the Law of Incomes of the Federation for the fiscal exercise 2017, in which was published in the Official Journal of the Federation on November 15, 2016, which contains new Special Taxes on Production and Services (more commonly known as IEPS in Spanish) in which the government taxes with high rates the gasoline of both premium and diesel.

However, on December 2016 an increase in the price of gasoline (magna, premium and diesel) was announced for January 1, 2017 in a 20% increase, for the beginning of February on the same year 2 more increments are estimated and after February 18 the release of the price in which there will be daily adjustments.

Some states have reported lack of fuel in which PEMEX announced regulations in the first week of January.

Protests for increase

January 1

Since January 1, 2017 there have been many protests against the increase of the price of gasoline. A highway Queretaro, Mexico was blocked since 11 in the morning for several hours.

Manifestations congregated in Mexico City to march from the Angel of Independence to the Zócalo of the city. Many gas stations were blocked as well. Many protestors were manifesting with posters in various parts of the country. In Baja California giant mouse traps were placed in front of houses of local deputies.

January 5

• In Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo, protesters against the rise of the gasoline price blocked a highway in Laredo, Mexico. In the attempt of the Federal Police and the state police of Hidalgo to remove the blockade of the road, there was a violent confrontation that resulted in the death of two protesters and thirteen injured, as well as various arrests. There has been an investigation open because of the two deaths. The governor of Hidalgo, Omar Fayad, said that dialogue would be sought in the resolution of the conflict but there would be consequences for acts of vandalism.
• In Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, while more than 10,000 people were protesting peacefully in Macroplaza, a group of vandals attacked the Palace of Government of the State of Nuevo Leon with rocks and other objects. The protesters yelled begging that "this is not the people" so that the attack of the group would cease, which did not occur. As a cause of these incidents Jaime Rodríguez Calderon, governor of the state, announced 182 arrests.
• In the municipalities of the state of Veracruz, mouth of the rivers Boca del Rio, Tierra Blanca, Medellin and Agua Dulce protests and disturbances were present. As a result, there was one person deceased and 155 people were arrested. The governor of the state, Miguel Angel Yunes confronted those who were stealing from a plaza, Plaza las Brisas of Veracruz, convincing them of not doing it by exchanging with them pantry vouchers.

Looting

From January 1, 2017 there have been many robberies in various auto services and department stores in the City of Mexico, the State of Mexico, Puebla, Chiapas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosi and Tabasco. In the case of Mexico City, there was an investigation of the new site Political Animal, supported by videos and declarations from the Ministry of Public Security, that confirmed that this robbery had no relationship with the protests.

What is clear, says the official, is that they were not people who had any intention of peacefully protesting but that they were individuals who explicitly gathered in order to provoke disorder and generate looting. A fire arm was found in an abandoned vehicle had to be secured an in other situations there were shots as well.

— Idris Rodríguez, coordinator of C4 of the Ministry of Public Security of Mexico City.

Such attacks were classified by the police as unpublished, organized and made with similar logistics by mostly young men. There is evidence of the use of transportations for that specific purpose, some in which after committing theft in the City of Mexico, escaped to the State of Mexico.

In Puebla, reports from neighborhoods to the police indicated that the thieves acted organized and that some robberies were committed using transportation devices that had license plates from the State of Mexico. The governor, Rafael Moreno Valle, informed that these robberies had no relationship with the peaceful protests and were instead committed by groups linked to political parties . In the Central of Abastas, tenants armed themselves with sticks and rocks in order to repel any attempts of looting.

Reactions

Without previous notice, on January 1, 2017 various transportation services increased their prices. On the same day, the price of Gas LP was announced and increased the rate of high electric consumption of CFE.

Miguel Angel Mancera informed that he aims to reunite with the governors and Enrique Pena Nieto to review the decision on the increase of the gasoline price.

On January 4, 2017 Enrique Pena Nieto spoke in public for the first time about the gasoline price in a message to the nation during a press conference on changes in his cabinet. In this message Peña addressed the topic with calmness and spoke about the difficulties of the decision, calling it necessary in order to maintain the stability of the Mexican economy. He justified the increase price of gasoline due to the increase price of petroleum.

I know that it is a difficult change for gasoline to adjust to its international price. But as President my responsibility is to take hard decisions in order to avoid major problems in the future.

— Enrique Pena Nieto

The Mexican leader —in allusion to the protests— mentioned that in this context he will not permit "abuses of those who under this measure are excused and commit outrages".

A day after, on January 4, 2017, Pena Nieto called the union in a message to the nation for the initiation of the year from the Official Residence of The Pines, in which he reiterated what he had announced a day before, arguing that he understood the anger and that the decision was hard and painful. He also said that sustaining government subsides at the cost of gasoline in order to keep it low would have had more serious consequences such as public indebtedness, increased taxes and the sacrifice of social spendings.:

Trying to maintain the artificial price of the gasoline would have forced us to cut some social programs, increase taxes or to increase the debt of our country, putting at risk the stability of the entire country. In fact, maintaining an artificial gasoline price in 2017, like the one we had in December, would have meant an additional cost of more than 200 billion pesos. This amount is equivalent to paralyzing for four months all Social Security, from consultations with family doctors, to surgeries, daycares and emergency services; interrupting for 2 complete years the benefits that PROSPERA provides to 7 million families; suspend for three years the popular insurance, which takes care of health of more than 50 million Mexicans. Here I ask you: what would you have done.

— Enrique Pena Nieto

After the Party of Democratic Revolution admitted that their support towards raising the price of gasoline was an error, which gave approval to the Energetic Reform, they announced their "resounding" rejection to the increment of the gasoline price and announced a calendar of peaceful protests. The National Regeneration Movement party, which was described as "popular outcry" by protests, announced that it would promote trials of protection.

The Conference of The Episcopate of Mexico of the Catholic Church, by their part, called the executive, legislative and Mexican political parties that were considering raising the price of gasoline to "walk the path of peace, justice, and solidarity, resolving by an intelligent matter and creative the big challenges that confront us".