There are currently riots breaking out in Mexico due to a 20% price hike. The price of gas is about the same as a daily minimum wage, a measure that president Mancera believes is necessary in order to achieve gradual economic liberalism (moving the gas business from the public to the private sector). This sudden shift in prices resulted in multiple riots and aggressive protests. Currently, 250 people have been arrested for barricading Mexican roads and looting shops in an attempt to bring the prices down. The leaders of these riots are threatening a “peaceful revolution”, which will most likely not be peaceful. The government has formally denounced these protests as non-peaceful and will respond with arrests to any who are disruptive. Defenders of this move are saying that Mexico is the 4th largest consumer of petrol in the world and, as a result, has caused substantial environmental damage.
I personally believe that these protests are not an ideal response to this situation. The economic and financial damage caused by petrol consumption is substantial in Mexico, as well as around the globe. The problem with this move, however, is that the general population of Mexico can’t afford to pay for this price hike, with the price being equivalent to the daily minimum wage (about $0.80). I would instead propose a more gradual price increase. The president claimed that this increase was gradual but obviously increasing it to how much someone is paid in one day is ridiculous. Creating a gradual price rise along with trying to switch to more environmentally friendly gas alternatives is the best option for Mexico in the future. This situation is much like the US’s gas price increase in 2008 due to the economic recession. Although it was not nearly daily minimum wage, the solution to this problem was to set forth very gradual reforms. As a result, the average national gas price has gone from $4.11 to the current $2.33.
No comments:
Post a Comment