Small-Minded

Macario Schettino on the upset caused by the government raising the price of gas:

Our politicians must be small, if a small adjustment in the price if gasoline serves as an obstacle to political reform. Small in vision, in ambition, and understanding, without a doubt.

I won't repeat the arguments that I expressed in the financial section, I will remind you that growth in demand of gasoline in Mexico is one of the highest in the world (because of the relative cheapness of cars) and already 300,000 of the 750,000 barrels of gas that we consume daily are imported. Maintaining the price of gas low is absurd, and it has been for a while. The government is merely correcting a mistaken policy, but its adversaries perceive in this rise a small victory, commensurate to the adversaries themselves, and they don't hesitate to fight for it, whatever the cost.

This episode reminds me of the gas tax dustup between Obama and Clinton during their primary battle, during which the president came off looking responsible and presidential, despite taking on the harder position to explain to a cash-strapped electorate. It'd be nice to see someone follow his lead.

For the record, with the hikes regular unleaded gas costs about $2.50 a gallon here. Also, here's the financial section piece that Schettino referred to.