Businesses and industries in Jalisco are loosing between 200 and 250 million pesos a day as a result of the gasoline shortage, according to Daniel Curiel, the president of the state’s Council of Industrial Chambers.
Curiel joined forces with other members of the private sector Thursday to issue a direct call to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to find a solution to the problem that has plagued the state for almost a month.
Curiel said at least four billion pesos have been lost since the shortages began – equivalent to eight percent of Jalisco’s GDP.
Although polls show that citizens generally support Lopez Obrador’s crackdown on fuel thieves, many people in Jalisco believe this state is unfairly bearing the brunt of the shortages.
More and more dissenting voices were making their concerns heard this week as the shortages continued despite the reopening last Sunday of the Salamanca-Guadalajara poliducto (pipeline) that supplies most of the metropolitan area’s fuel.
But as the pace of deliveries to service stations failed to quicken up noticeably, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro Tuesday accused the federal government of not understanding the dimensions of the problem in this state and its harmful effect on the local economy. Only 40 percent of the promised gasoline required to meet demand has so far reached metro-area service stations, he complained. And 16 municipalities in the state were “completely without fuel.”
Alfaro stressed that the fuel desabasto (shortage) was “considerably worse” in Jalisco than in other Mexican states, calling the situation here “unprecedented.” He added that without any clear direction from federal authorities, he would initiate “preventive measures,” without detailing what these might be.
Although federal officials suggested that regular deliveries to service stations would quickly alleviate the fuel scarcity and reduce the long wait times at the pumps, little seemed to have changed in the early part of this week.
Fortunately, more stations seemed to be open on Wednesday and Thursday in the metropolitan area, with shorter lines reported, although some still stretched for over a kilometer, with waits of up to three hours. This was an improvement, however, from Monday, when around 80 percent of service stations in the metro area were closed.
Zapopan, in particular, has been the worst affected part of the metropolitan area. Mayor Pablo Lemus complained that only four percent of service stations had seen deliveries on Monday. Although this had improved to 16 percent by Thursday, it is still insufficient to meet demand, he said.
Tired of waiting in lines, many Tapatios have been leaving their cars at home. According to government sources, an additional 20,000 passengers per day have been using Guadalajara’s Tren Ligero (subway) network since the start of the gas shortage.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador brushed off Alfaro’s complaints Wednesday, saying the governor was just trying to create “controversy.” He insisted the situation will soon return to normal as supplies at gas stations are restored following the reopening of the Salamanca pipeline. A press bulletin from Pemex Tuesday confirmed that 60,000 barrels (9.5 million liters) of fuel had been delivered to metro area gas stations Sunday through Tuesday – equivalent to a full day of demand in the seven municipalities that make up the GDL metro area. And more pipas (tanker trucks) were being dispatched to Pemex’s plant in El Salto to increase deliveries over the coming weekend, the bulletin said.
The combative Alfaro was pulling no punches, however. He hit back at the president, saying the “crisis” here is a “real” one and he was not trying to stoke a conflict. He also warned that supplies of diesel fuel (used by bus fleets) and LP gas (for domestic use) were getting low in some parts of the state.
Guadalajara Mayor Ismael del Toro Castro said the metropolitan zone was being “singled out” and is not receiving the same treatment as other states, noting that the gasoline shortage in Mexico City was resolved in a “matter of days.”
Responding to the spat between Alfaro and the president, Curiel said he did not think Jalisco was being “punished” by the federal government, but believed “negotiation” is the best way forward.
Meanwhile, hotel occupancy in Guadalajara fell to a new low of 27 percent this week, according to Hotel and Motel Association President Miguel Angel Fong. Tourism to other parts of Jalisco has been equally affected, he noted. Alfaro said that tourism to Tequila has dropped by 70 percent and San Juan de los Lagos by 50 percent.
Curiel called last weekend’s low tourism tally in Chapala, the “worst in its history.”