In one sense, the new year got off on the right foot for Mexican consumers the moment midnight struck on Thursday, with the introduction of a previously announced measure to scrap all national long-distance telephone charges.
The good news was tempered, however, by a 1.9 increase in gas prices, with Magna fuel going up from 13.31 pesos a liter to 13.56, and Premium to 14.37. The one-off annual hike replaces the unpopular monthly increases of around 11 centavos over the past four years, but will hit Mexican pocketbooks hard in the first month of the year when citizens struggle with the “cuesta de enero” (literally, cost of January), a time when a slew of prices hikes usually kick in and debts undertaken in December have to be met.
End of long distance
All calls within Mexico, from fixed and mobile lines, are now considered local, although the long-distance prefixes will still need to be used – for now at least. Federal authorities eventually hope to phase out the 01, 02 and 045 prefixes, allowing ten-digit dialing for all domestic calls.
The new rates will save Mexicans around half a billion dollars a year in telephone fees, the Federal Telecommunications Institute estimates.
The measure is part of extensive reforms to the telecommunications sector passed last year that seek to spur competition and reduce monopolies
Other parts of the law that also kicked in January 1 include stiffer regulations for service providers, who must now guarantee that consumers who switch companies are able to keep their telephone numbers.
Gas hikes
Economists say although the three-percent gasoline hike on January 1 will have an effect on inflation in the first month of 2015 it will not affect the government’s overall annual target of around three percent.
Federal senators from all the opposition parties, including the National Action Party (PAN) rejected the increase at a time when crude oil prices are falling, along with pump prices in many western nations.
Pawnshops
Meanwhile, many Mexicans will traditionally bring in the new year by trudging off to their nearest Monte de Piedad pawnshop – an organization with more than 200 branches throughout Mexico that is recognized as a national charity by the federal government.
January is the busiest time for this institution, as more people than usual pawn items to pay for their December merrymaking and meet the extra new year costs.