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| Caribbean-Latin America | |
| Guerrilla group attacks Mexico pipeline | |
| 2007-07-12 | |
| Honda, Hershey's, and other multinational companies temporarily shut down their factories in western Mexico on Wednesday after rebels attacked a key natural gas pipeline. The small, left-wing guerrilla group that claimed responsibility for the explosions vowed to continue the attacks, while the Mexican government scrambled to increase security at "strategic installations" across Mexico. Security analysts and energy experts downplayed the attacks, noting they were relatively small in nature and mostly symbolic, having little effect on the economy. Officials from Mexico's state-owned oil and gas monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said an explosion Tuesday and two more last week affected different sections of the same pipeline extending from central Mexico City to Guadalajara, the industry-rich capital of the western state of Jalisco. The company sent 150 workers to repair the line. At least a dozen companies including Honda Motor Co., Kellogg Co., The Hershey Co., Nissan Motor Co., and Grupo Modelo SA, Mexico's largest beer maker, were forced to suspend or scale back operations because of the lack of natural gas, the daily newspaper Excelsior reported. Excelsior, citing unidentified sources, reported that total business losses were being estimated at more than $6.4 million a day. Pemex said the gas would probably not be restored until Friday at the earliest, but was working to provide alternative means of delivery. The explosions forced the evacuation of some communities but caused no injuries, Pemex said. The group that claimed responsibility for the pipeline attacks is the "military zone command of the People's Revolutionary Army," or EPR, a tiny rebel group that staged several armed attacks on government and police installations in southern Mexico in the 1990s, but was later weakened by internal divisions. The EPR said its members had planted explosives on the pipeline. Mexican security officials on Tuesday confirmed that the pipeline had been attacked, but did not identify suspects or say whether explosives were involved. In a statement late Tuesday, the EPR said it was waging a "prolonged people's war" against "the anti-people government." It was impossible to independently verify the statement, which was posted on a Web site that serves as a clearinghouse for bulletins from Latin American armed groups. The left-leaning Democratic Revolution Party issued a statement Wednesday casting doubt on the EPR's involvement. The party said it "wasn't ruling out" the government's own involvement, either to generate support for allowing private investment in Pemex, to use as an excuse to crack down on leftist groups or "to distract people from the grave problems that afflict the country." President Felipe Calderon's office did not comment immediately. Pamela K. Starr, a Latin America analyst at the Eurasia Group in Washington, called the attacks "mostly symbolic, limited by the small size and logistical capacity of the group." George Baker, a Houston, Texas-based energy analyst who follows Pemex closely, said the attacks represent only minor headaches for the monopoly because they were limited to a pipeline that can be fixed relatively easily. The sabotage of refineries or privately owned international pipelines would have been much more serious, he said. "As long as we're talking about just some pipelines in the desert someplace, we don't have to worry about it too much," Baker said.
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| Posted by:lotp |
| #9 The big problem in Mexico is that around 40 families control 95% of the wealth, land, businesses and government. Forty families, you say. What's the odds that Bush's niece's husband is from one of those families ? |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-07-12 19:21 |
| #8 Nail, meet Old Pappy. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-07-12 14:07 |
| #7 The big problem in Mexico is that around 40 families control 95% of the wealth, land, businesses and government. Nothing can be done about the problem because the problem controls the state apparatus. We still need to control our borders, if for no other reason than to know who IS crossing them. We really need a dependable southern neighbor, but until we have one we need to consider Mexico a failed state, and watch very carefully what's going on down there. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-07-12 13:53 |
| #6 Assuming that the "new rulers" would be the same as the "old rulers" (I mean, look at EVERY latin american country that has has (mulitiple) revolutions), I don't see much hope for change. What is most worrisome is the alliance with like-minded facists from the Islamic world. Ebbang--where are you located? |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2007-07-12 12:21 |
| #5 I'm all for cutting off remittances to Mexico. I'm sick of all these third world types looking to Uncle Sugar for a hand out with some sort of implied threat that things will get worse if we cut off the flow of dollars. I don't see how the drug problem can get any worse. You ask any kid in my town where you can score some pot and you'll be smoking it in less than an hour. You want a handout? Ask the Chinese. They've got all our money. Better yet, how about moving some of that offshore manufacturing from China which is hostile, aggressive and weapons proliferating to Mexico which is friendly and non-aggressive? But Mexico's problems need to be fixed by Mexicans. No, I don't know how. What I do know is something is very rotten when a country with all the natural resources that Mexico has is still a third world basket case. Maybe a revolution is exactly what they need if their ruling class can't or won't fix it. You guys are always talking about cleaning your guns and stocking up on your ammo so how can you blame dirt poor Mexicans with nothing to lose for doing the same? But then, it's not my problem, is it? My problem is all these squatters from Mexico living in the underbrush, pissing and pooping into waterways that empty onto the beaches where I surf and a crooked president who won't do anything about it. The remittances don't seem to help with that. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-07-12 12:15 |
| #4 Sweet. Overthrowing the corrupt Mex govt is good news for the US. |
| Posted by: jds 2007-07-12 11:59 |
| #3 Nah, this is all about collusion and useful idiots. The Left and its oil interests are manifesting thier intent........too bad that they chose this commodity, its a dinosaur. |
| Posted by: Spiny Gl 2511 2007-07-12 11:53 |
| #2 At least a dozen companies including Honda Motor Co., Kellogg Co., The Hershey Co., Nissan Motor Co., and Grupo Modelo SA, Mexico's largest beer maker, were forced to suspend or scale back operations because of the lack of natural gas Hold down the laughter please. Let these crapasses suffer. This is what happens when you go third world cheap. As for us here, we now have to watch every purchase coming in from ChiCom because it's fairly obvious that the cheapo cost-cutting, lack of rules is dangerous to our health and well being. As has always been said, you don't get something for nothing. Someone always gets cheated. Today it's US citizens by the multi-national corporations. |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter2970 2007-07-12 11:10 |
| #1 OTOH, if we don't secure that border it's only a matter of time before they start blowing pipelines in Texas or California. |
| Posted by: treo 2007-07-12 10:24 |