Gas shortage

January 12, 2019


"Who has gasoline?"

That is most asked question the first 2 weeks of the year.

Gasoline was hard to find.

The majority of gas stations were closed.

No gas

temporarily closed

The few stations that remained open had long lines. A friend told me she had to wait in line for 90 minutes for gasoline!

A rare gas station which has a relatively short wait. 

a line of cars stretching for blocks for gas

It's hard to believe this would happen in oil rich Mexico.

It's not a supply problem, because there is plenty of oil in Mexico.

It's a consequence due to theft.

The following is a quote from an article that recently appeared in the Washington Post.

"For years, Mexico has lost billions of dollars to fuel theft. Cartels hacked into pipelines each night, and corrupt employees of the country’s national oil company, Pemex, helped siphon away even more fuel from Pemex installations. Last year, Mexico lost an average of 60,000 barrels of fuel to theft per day, according to Etellekt, a risk consultancy that studies the phenomenon" 

So, in response, the newly elected president of Mexico launched a campaign to crackdown on the theft. Now gasoline is only being transported by trains or trucks often under police or military escort. With the new transport restrictions in place, there was a delay in supplying the gas stations. The transport of gasoline via truck or train was slower and less reliable than using a pipeline.

This has affected many parts of Mexico, including the city of Queretaro where we live.

Brenda and I were now using our car sparingly. We tried to either walk or take the bus as much as we can. Of course, this affected our ability in taking our own kids to extracurricular activities as well as taking kids from the Pan de Vida orphanage on outings.

The gas crisis was caused by sinful people who don't fear God. They don't care about the consequences. They don't realize how their actions affect others.

This issue shows how important it is to teach the younger generation to fear God.  Not a trembling and cowering fear, but a fear of awe and respect. Where people learn to obey God's commands and to live each moment knowing that God sees everything.

It is the goal of the Pan de Vida orphanage to raise up kids with a healthy fear of God.

As of February 22, 2019, the supply of gasoline in Mexico has improved. Brenda and I are now able to use our car on a regular basis. However, there continues to be stories in the news of gasoline theft.

Reference:

Gas stations in Mexico run out of gas as government cracks down on fuel theft  by Kevin Sieff, Washington Post, January 9, 2019