Widespread Gas Shortage In Mexico As Government Tries To Thwart Fuel Thieves

Npr ^ | 1-8-2019 | Ian Stewart

[tcrlaf]

Drop by drop, gallon by gallon, thieves have been draining the pipelines and coffers of the Mexican government.

Last year, $3 billion worth of fuel was stolen from Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company, according to the country's new president. But a crackdown by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has left many ordinary Mexicans struggling to find gas.

The government has shifted transport of fuel to tanker trucks and rail cars and away from pipelines, which are regularly tapped by thieves. But the new distribution systems apparently can't keep up with consumer demand. Pemex has had to tell customers not to panic or hoard fuel.

Major fuel shortages have been reported in at least six Mexican states over the past several days and images showed people lined up at gas stations, empty canisters in hand.

Video from Guanajuato – where the Associated Press reports that 84 percent of gas stations are closed – shows a miles-long line of cars waiting to tank up.

[jalisco555]

I am in Guadalajara right now. Almost all gas stations are closed and the few that are open have lines 100+ cars long. There is still traffic but people are starting to run out. I don’t think this can continue much longer.