Civil unrest exploded when the Mexican government increased consumer gasoline prices a whopping 20% on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2017. While President Enrique Peña Nieto claims the hike was inevitable in order to avoid cuts to public services, Mexicans are today paying twice as much at the pumps than in the U.S., Russia, Brazil, China, and the European Union, with prices today 95% higher than in New York City.
Taking into account the Mexican peso’s precipitous fall in response to the U.S. election from 13 MXN/USD last year to 22 MXN to one dollar today, in real terms the impact on people in Mexico is even greater. At pre-Trump exchange rates, what Mexicans are paying for gas almost tripled overnight.
As all kinds of consumer prices jumped, the people’s response to the “gasolinazo” (or “gasopolypse” in English) was swift, with convenience and department stores being looted across the country.
