Since the beginning of the year, numerous states in Mexico have been affected by a lack of gasoline. This is primarily the result of the campaign of the new president, López Obrador, who has declared war on the theft of petrol. The large-scale theft of gasoline is a omnipresent problem in the country and is referred to as Huachicol.
Fuels that are tapped by drilling pipes are sold illegally throughout the country. High-ranking politicians, influential people and companies are involved in this dark business. In 2018 the theft of gasoline reached an unprecedented peak. It is assumed that nearly half of the gasoline sold within the country is distributed illegally. Tens of thousands of lines in the country are tapped. The new government wants to fight the Huachicol through extensive investigations, combined with military operations and searches throughout the country, which have been carried out since the beginning of the year. Unfortunately this has the temporary effect that much less gasoline is distributed in the country, because the legal distribution cannot be adapted fast enough to the actual need. Within the first ten days of 2019 approx. 50% less gasoline was sold within the country. Large tankers filled with fuels are anchored off the coasts of Mexico.
As there are no passenger trains within the country the population is highly dependent on the distribution of gasoline. Many people need to buy it on a daily basis to make their living. So it comes that there are kilometre-long car queues at every gas station which is still open. Some people are waiting 24 hours sleeping in their car to get a little bit of gasoline. In addition, people are queuing up to replenish containers that are actually used for water or other liquids. All this naturally leads to increased security risks. So it happened that last week hundreds of people collected gasoline that had escaped from a pipeline in a community approx. 100 km north of Mexico City, when there suddenly was a strong explosion and dozens of people lost their lives. Besides, there are robberies from gas stations to get gasoline.
Inspite of the dimension of this problem the Mexicans take it with a sense of humor. While waiting at the gas stations many conversations arise with other waiting people, some people take a book with them to make time go by faster. A playlist of songs about gasoline was also presented on TV. Today the situation has already been improved in many states. Let's hope that the efforts of the new government have an impact on the distribution of gasoline and that the people can soon return to normal everyday life.
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