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WORLD NEWS Thursday 5 January 2017

Scuttled Ford plant has Mexico fearing more under Trump

PETER ORSI Mexican elites thought until
Associated Press recently,” Hope said. “They
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Ford claimed that at the end of
Motor Company’s can- the day economic interests
cellation of plans to build would prevail over political
a $1.6 billion auto manu- messaging. That’s clearly
facturing plant in San Luis not the case.”
Potosi has sounded alarms In an editorial, El Univer-
throughout Mexico. sal also recalled the deal
Even as the country is be- Trump struck in December
ing rocked by rowdy na- with Carrier to keep 800 of
tionwide protests against a 1,300 jobs at an Indiana
Jan. 1 gasoline price hike, furnace factory from being
the Ford news led the front sent to Mexico, in return for
pages of Mexico’s most millions of dollars in tax in-
influential newspapers on centives.
Wednesday, and they tied It also implicitly criticized
the development directly the Mexican government’s
to President-elect Donald response to the incoming
Trump. administration.
“Trump leaves Mexico with- “Mexico loses thousands
out 3,600 jobs,” read the A man walks past the nearly deserted construction site, as workers shut down operations and re- of jobs with no word on a
headline on El Universal. move equipment a day after Ford announced the cancellation of plans to build a $1.6 billion auto clear strategy for confront-
“Ford’s braking jolts the manufacturing plant on the site, in Villa de Reyes, outside San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Wednesday, ing the next U.S. govern-
peso,” said Reforma, refer- Jan. 4, 2017. ment which has presented
ring to the Mexican curren- Associated Press itself as protectionist and,
cy’s nearly 1 percent slump Mexico Economy Depart- the border and renegoti- Trump’s pressure on Gen- especially, anti-Mexican,”
following the news. ment said. ate the North American eral Motors should be a the paper wrote. “Trump
“The jobs created in Mexico Mexicans have been ner- Free Trade Agreement, up- “much-needed wake-up will try to recover as many
have contributed to main- vous about Trump’s tough setting ties with what is by call,” said Mexico analyst U.S. companies that have
taining manufacturing jobs rhetoric toward their coun- far Mexico’s largest trading Alejandro Hope. set up in Mexico as pos-
in the United States which try, including disparaging partner. It shows “how much actual sible. He will try to make
otherwise would have dis- remarks about immigrants Two weeks before inaugu- leverage Trump has within them return at whatever
appeared in the face of who come to the U.S. ille- ration, the scuttling of the specific companies, which cost, through threats or us-
Asian competition,” the gally and vows to wall off planned Ford factory and is far greater than what ing public resources.”q

Mexican president defends gas

price hike as protests spread

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mex- and diesel, which it says fic and endangering the
ico’s president defended represented subsidies that country’s fuel supplies.
his unpopular move to hike unduly benefited wealthier The farm activist group El
gasoline prices 20 percent Mexicans. Barzon said that even with
as highway blockades “I understand the anger tax breaks or government
and protests continued and irritation felt by the support for truck drivers,
Wednesday across the general public,” Pena Ni- “the wave of anger and dis-
country. eto said, adding that “this content among Mexicans
President Enrique Pena Ni- is an action that nobody cannot be held back.” Residents steal gasoline and diesel from a gas station following
eto said he will try to help would want to take.” The state-owned oil com- protests against an increase in fuel prices in Allende, southern
groups hit hard by the in- But, he added, “If this deci- pany Pemex said Tuesday Veracuz State, Mexico, late Tuesday Jan. 3, 2017.
creases in an apparent sion had not been taken, that blockades of fuel ter- Associated Press
reference to bus, truck and the effects and conse- minals in the states of Chi- continued, it could inter- camin, said that “imped-
taxi drivers. quences would have been huahua, Morelos and Du- rupt operations at airports ing production and com-
The increases took effect far more painful.” rango had caused a “criti- in Chihuahua and Baja merce is not the best way
over the weekend as the Protesters have blockaded cal situation” in distributing California. to handle the increase in
government ends regu- highways and gas stations fuel to gas stations there. The country’s industrial fuel prices.”q
lated prices for gasoline across Mexico, snarling traf- It said that if the blockades chamber, known as Con-