La Gasolina

Ok, so last weekend I had a co-worker friend take me to Chapala (a city on the edge of the biggest lake in Mexico... also called Chapala coincidentally).  Now, keep in mind the area is a big ex-pat/tourist area, so it's a bit more expensive there than in Guadalajara.  My friend was running out of gas, and I say, "Dang, too bad you'll have to fill up here and not in Guadalajara... it'll be more expensive".  He kind of looked at me weird, and I remembered that there are not really private gas companies here.  All gas is controlled by the government here.  So Pemex is basically the only company you can buy gas at and since the price is controlled by the government, it's the same everywhere.  SO WEIRD to get used to after the variability of gas prices in the states.

Just some history about gas here that I learned.  Gas used to be subsidized by the government and so it was fairly cheap, but some years ago, the government stopped subsidizing gas.  Instead of stopping immediately, they are raising gas prices by 10 cents or so every so often.  So, gas prices here are basically on a never ending rise.  Currently it's around four dollars a gallon.  Now this may seem tolerable when we think about it in the states, but when you realize that the cost of living here is lower and that therefore the median salaries are lower... it changes the view a bit.  Mexicans are spending more than two times their income on gas than Americans.

Also one last thing about gas here.  They have oil, but they do not refine it into gas here.  So, they send their oil to the states for refining into gas and then pay to buy the gas at a higher price.  Try and figure that one out... why don't they build a refinery here in Mexico?  I'm no expert in gas, so maybe there's a reason, but I do find it odd.

So needless to say, I would think gas is a pain point here, but in reality they seem to talk about it less than Americans in my limited experience.  I find this fascinating, but maybe it's just the cultural difference in which Americans like to talk about the weather, gas prices and other non-personal facts with acquaintances.