With a MXN$3.85 billion investment , President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will initiate his Development and Welfare Plan for communities near Pemex pipelines , so that people are not compelled, either by poverty or need, to steal fuel.
Shortly after a pipeline explosion in which 96 people engaging in fuel theft were killed in the state of Hidalgo , President López Obrador claimed that fuel thieves were desperate because the government had abandoned them. “These people have been forsaken and it is all due to corruption. While they plundered and stole, they turned their backs on the most disadvantaged.”
In company of the Social Welfare, Agriculture, Labor, and Health ministers , the President announced the implementation of 8 social programs in 91 municipalities that will benefit more than 1.64 million people .
Some of the regions that will benefit from said program are:
Mexico City
: The Azcapotzalco and Gustavo A. Madero delegations.
Guanajuato
: The Apaseo el Alto, Apaseo el Grande, Celaya, Irapuato, Pueblo Nuevo, Silao, León, Abasolo, Pénjamo, Salamanca, Valle de Santiago, Villagrán, Cortazar, Moroleón, Uriangato, and Yuririra municipalities.
Hidalgo
: Ajacuba, San Agustín Tlaxiaca, Tetepango, Tlahuelilpan, Pachuca de Soto, Epazoyucan, Mineral de la Reforma, Singuilucan, Tepeapulco, Atitalaquia, Atotonilco de Tula, Chapantongo, Huichapan, Nopala de Villagrán, Tepeji del Río de Ocampo, Tepetitlán, Tezontepec de Aldama, Tlaxcoapan, Tula de Allende, Acaxochitlán, Cuautepec de Hinojosa, Santiago Tulantepec de Lugo Guerrero, and Tulancingo de Bravo.
State of Mexico
: Atlacomulco, Ixtlahuaca, Jocotitlán, Coyotepec, Cuautitlán, Melchor Ocampo, Teoloyucan, Acambay, Aculco, Jilotepec, Polotitlán, Tlalnepantla de Baz, Toluca, Tultitlán, Almoloya de Juárez, and Huehuetoca.
Michoacán
: Morelia, Copándaro, Cuitzeo, Tarímbaro.
Puebla
: Huauchinango, Jalpan, Juan Galindo, Tlacuilotepec, Venustiano Carranza, Xicotepec, and Ahuazotepec.
Querétaro
: Corregidora, Huimilpan, Pedro Escobedo, and San Juan del Río.
Veracruz
: Papantla, Coatzintla, Poza Rica de Hidalgo, Tihuatlán, Cazones de Herrera, Tuxpan, and Coyutla.
“We will face the unfortunate practice of having to pick up fuel from ditches, leaks, and illegal taps in order to prevent accidents,” López Obrador stated. “There will be no excuses now. The Mexican government will work to provide welfare and ensure that everyone has a job.”
Later in a statement, he added: “I am only talking about humble people. Those who are engaged in the sale of illegal fuel do not steal 5 gallon containers; they steal tanker trucks .”
He added that the government would look for alternatives to allow people to obtain their income in a legal and honest way so that they may meet their basic needs. In this way, he added, people will not be compelled to put their lives at risk as was the case in Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo.
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