Huge protests in Mexico
Thursday, 5 January, 2017 - 18:15
Mexico City’s mayor announces the deployment of nine thousand police to quell protests over the catastrophic rise in gas prices.
A statement released by Mexico City’s police force under orders from the mayor said the deployment would, “guarantee mobility, security, and free expression of ideas in relations to the protests about the rise in gasoline prices.”
Mexico has been rocked by protests, looting, and the closure of bus stations and airports after a sudden spike in gas prices on Sunday, the inevitable outcome of President Peña Nieto's 2014 decision to begin privatizing the state-owned oil and gas industry, Pemex, and end subsidies for gasoline.
Many fear the severe consequences of the spike in the cost of food and other basic goods, and analysts predict the rise in gas prices could lead to dangerous increases in unemployment and inflation, perhaps even triggering a significant recession.
