A deadly explosion in Mexico punctures the optimism of a new era
The president says his virtuous example will stop theft. It hasn’t
A FIREBALL LIT up the night sky on January 18th when a fuel pipeline exploded at Tlahuelilpan in the state of Hidalgo, north of Mexico City. People rolled in a field of alfalfa to smother the flames that engulfed them. The accident killed at least 98 people; 48 are in hospital.
Hours earlier someone had pierced the pipe, sending petrol spurting skywards. Rather than keep their distance, residents of Tlahuelilpan ran towards the leak with empty canisters, capturing the fuel as it gushed out or pooled on the ground. They may have paid a fee to whomever breached the pipe. Cheap fuel is hard to resist. It takes a day of minimum-wage toil to earn enough for five litres of petrol, but no time at all to fill a bucket.
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