Thousands March in Protest of Pervasive Corruption, High Fuel Prices

More than 11,000 Tijuana residents marched on Sunday in protest of a 20-percent uptick in gas prices and pervasive political corruption.
The march was done in conjunction with thousands of other people across the country, but in Baja California residents had one more reason to protest: a newly approved law that moves toward the privatization of water services. Officials estimated that more than 69,000 people amassed across five municipalities in Baja California in protest of the aforementioned issues.
In Tijuana, children, youth, adults, and even a mariachi band joined the protest on Sunday, which started at the Libro de Texto Gratuito monument and moved towards the El Chaparral Mexican customs station, which leads to Mexico from San Ysidro. The flood of people, which included workers, students, activists, children and an array of other professions, flowed for dozens of blocks and halted traffic for at least two hours in certain parts of the city. The protest lasted all afternoon.
Toward the end of the march, when the line of protesters reached the border, people took control of the Mexican customs station at El Chaparral. It was the third weekend in a row this occurred, but this time U.S. authorities did not shut down vehicular access to Tijuana.
While at the border crossing, hundreds of people wielded signs demanding Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s resignation and in theme of a peaceful protest, a mariachi played traditional Mexican songs, including “Cielito Lindo,” while protesters sang along. At the same time, cars traveling southbound across the border honked in support of the cause.
These protests erupted across Mexico early in January due to the fuel market’s liberalization. Since then unrest has escalated and activists continue to rally communities to organize and have their voice heard.
The outcry was largely sparked by an increase in fuel prices, which have made California’s pump prices look cheap in comparison and even prompted Mexican nationals, including Tijuana Mayor Manuel Gastelum, to drive across the border to fill up their tanks. The Mexican fuel market’s  liberalization comes as the Mexican government prepares to end state control of fuels and after a cut in subsidies, which kept fuel costs at artificially low prices for years.
The uptick in fuel costs has been a major blow to Mexico’s poor, who make up 50 percent of the population. To put things into context, in Mexico the cost of one gallon of gasoline is 65 cents less than the country’s newly increased minimum wage, which is 80 pesos a day, or roughly $3.75.
In addition to increased gas prices, Baja California residents face an additional economic hit. Last December, Baja California officials passed a new water act, which among many of things proposed creates two private entities for the distribution of water services.
One Tijuana resident, Silveria Saucedo, who works at a textile factory in the city, waved a sign opposing this new law. She said that privatizing water would only strain her monthly budget as service fees are expected to increase.
Saucedo currently pays 250 pesos a month to have water at home, she said. This is equivalent to $11. But Saucedo earns a weekly salary of 1,000 pesos, or $47, meaning 5 percent of her income goes solely to pay for water.
“Water belongs to everyone, it cannot be privatized,” Saucedo says. “And on top of the expensive fuel prices, the government is really screwing me over economically.”
A family of five, who declined to give their names in fear of retribution from the government, tagged along with the mass of people marching at the protest on Sunday. The father said it was the first time they joined a protest as a family and said he considered it to be an important lesson for his three young children.
One of the kids repeatedly yelled “Fuera Peña,” “out with Peña” in Spanish, and threw his tiny fist up in the air in solidarity with the protesters.
As the protest calmed down, and people returned home, organizers began to spread the news of future protests as early as Sunday, January 22. A sign that the movement, considered by many to be one of the most important periods of civil unrest in recent history, is far from over.