PROTESTERS TAKE CONTROL OF MEXICAN BORDER CROSSING WITH US
Source: Associated Press
22, 10:20 PM EST
BY ELLIOT SPAGAT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) -- Protesters took control of vehicle lanes at one of the busiest crossings on the U.S. border Sunday to oppose Mexican gasoline price hikes, waving through motorists into Mexico after Mexican authorities abandoned their posts.
Motorists headed to Mexico zipped by about 50 demonstrators at the Otay Mesa port of entry connecting San Diego and Tijuana, many of them honking to show support. The demonstrators waved signs to protest gas hikes and air other grievances against the government of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Other protests closed southbound traffic for hours at the San Diego-Tijuana San Ysidro port of entry, the busiest crossing along the 2,000-mile border, and halted southbound traffic at one of two crossings in Nogales, Arizona. U.S. Customs and Border Protection and California Highway Patrol officers closed southbound Interstate 5 to block access to the San Ysidro crossing, diverting traffic several miles east to the Otay Mesa port of entry.
Inspections were normal for all travelers entering the U.S. from Mexico. CBP officials didn't immediately respond to a request seeking more information about the impact of the protests.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_MEXICO_GASOLINE_PROTESTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-01-22-22-06-40
You may recall news from one year ago:
FEB 22, 2016 @ 02:52 PM
Mexican President: 'It Is Not The Time To Stop' On Historic Oil Reforms
Christopher Helman , FORBES STAFF
Mexico needs big oil sector investments now in order to be ready to profit when crude prices inevitably turn.
In a keynote speech to kick off the 2016 annual IHS CERAWeek conference in Houston, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto emphasized his dedication to further spearhead the privatization of Mexico’s beleaguered oil sector, despite low oil prices. "It is not the time to stop. It is the time to move forward," he said.
Already, the reforms, formalized in constitutional amendments in 2013, have been a "paradigm shift," the president said, "the most important economic change in the country of the last 50 years."
Achievements in reforming Mexico's electricity sector have "been faster than expected," he said. "The progress is heartening." In three bidding rounds so far Mexico has auctioned off 30 exploration zones to the likes of BP and Eni . To applause from the crowd gathered at the Hilton Americas ballroom, Pena Nieto announced that in December 2016 ten deepwater territories, considered to be the crown jewels of the auction process, will be put on the block.
More:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2016/02/22/mexican-president-promises-success-of-historic-oil-reforms/#653e7a053dfc
