Tonight, there is concern in Belize for our northern neighbors in Mexico, or more specifically, in Chetumal after a night of looting and unrest in the capital of Quintana Roo. Indeed, you may think of it as a peaceful and easygoing city, but last night there were pockets of unrest in Chetumal, and police had to lock down the town.
But, while it was slightly chaotic, and totally uncharacteristic, it wasn't as bad as all the facebook rumours might suggest. From what we have been able to tell, there was no mass looting in Chetumal, and the Plaza De Las Americas Mall was not thrashed, as some reports suggest.
In fact, what happened in Chetumal is a microcosm of what has been happening all across Mexico, in as many as 14 of 32 states states, causing looting at 250 stores. The unrest was triggered by a 20% increase in gas prices, after the Mexican government decided to stop subsidizing fuel prices. This has driven up pump prices, and even tortilla prices, and unleashed waves of violent demonstrations and looting across Mexico in the past five days.
According to international press reports, close to a thousand people have been arrested and three people were killed amidst looting in Veracruz.
AND last night in Chetumal, things were definitely on edge as State police had to fire their weapons to disperse the crowds looking for an opportunity to loot. Jules Vasquez put together the various facebook videos:…
And while that was the scene last night - what did it look like today? Well our team is on the way back frOm Chetumal and we'll have that story for you in our next segment.
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