Being Busy and Gasoline Prices In Mexico Will Increase In January

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

The price of gasoline that drivers see at the pumps is made up of five components: international references of gasoline prices, exchange rate, logistics costs, tax (IEPS and VAT), and profit margin of the service stations.

So far in 2020, consumers have paid an average of 7 to 8 pesos of taxes per liter of Magna, Premium, and Diesel gasoline, which represents around 42 percent of the final price, if you consider a final price of 18 pesos per liter for the Magna and 19 pesos for the Premium and Diesel.  We filled up yesterday at 17.88 a liter, the lowest price in months. 

The price increase will be via the IEPS tax.  IEPS (Impuesto Especial sobre Producción y Servicios) Special Tax on Production and Services.  The plan will be to increase this tax when the price of oil drops so that the PEMEX oil company won't suffer any losses.  This is exactly why the world does not need government-controlled businesses or nationalization.  

How does this affect you?  As a Rv'er or ex-pat, you will never see a major decrease again in the price of gasoline in Mexico.  Prices are and will fluctuate by each individual oil company or franchise that owns gas stations but the owners along with the consumers will be the big losers.

We are getting closer and closer to a socialistic regime and one that is not fair and balanced.  This week, the government cracked down on dairy and processed meats saying that there are added ingredients such as water and corn starch to name a couple.  These are commercial products that Mexicans can afford and are a part of the everyday diet and they will be affected.  An artisan cheese producer in Oaxaca exclaimed, "those products aren't even cheese".  Well, they certainly cannot compete with artisan cheesemakers but it does fill the stomachs of some of America's poorest people.  We have a saying in Mexico, "donde comen seis comen siete" or "where six eat, seven can be fed as well".  How does that work?  Well, when company comes to visit, you add water to your frijoles charros so that everyone gets something to eat.

On the home front, even I was forced to clean out my humble closet.  I found an old shirt that wasn't black, lordy be, will miracles never cease?  This is easy as everything on the left side automatically goes to charity and the 20 items hanging on the right go back in the closet.  That will happen on Monday as the yesero (plasterer) is redoing my closet.  20 years ago when we moved to this house (I thought I would never be saying that), the walls were covered in the old Hollywood style of rough stucco with hay mixed in it to give it that "look".  You could never match it so we had the complete house replastered.  Don't ever do that by the way.  But, for some unknown reason, probably laziness or stubbornness, my closet was never done and the false ceiling never installed.  Now's a good time and we have no contact with the worker as he has his own entrance and the bedroom to himself.

The weather is taking a turn today and we will have a wonderfully cool few days ahead.  Leaves are falling faster today along with the light breeze that brings the cool air.