In a statement to the public, President Enrique Peña Nieto emphasized that it is not through protest, vandalism, or robbery, that changes will be made. “We further the problem, and then the world witnesses us act like this,” he said. He added that there are few who are addressing the rise in fuel prices in a rational way and said that most are acting in reactionary and emotional ways.
In the Adolfo López Mateos room in Los Pinos, Peña Nieto gave a speech for Day of the Nurse and said that either “the country must project confidence to the world, or the world begins to distrust us.”
He appealed to Mexican citizens to listen rationally to the reasons that led to the decisions resulting in the rise in gas prices and to understand, “how difficult it was for this government to make this decision.”
Peña Nieto explained that the decision was made for the preservation of economic stability and that the decision was made due to the global rise in gasoline prices.
“In all the countries of the world, gasoline has gone up in price, and it is not because the government wants it. I would prefer that it not happen, but that is what has happened, and the government’s decision was based on these increases happening around the world,” he said.
Peña Nieto explained that a continued subsidization of gasoline would have required a cut in resources that should be directed towards programs of higher priority.
