“The huachicol is not defended nor will it be defended”

The National Organization of Petroleum Distributors (Onexpo) exposed before the comments of the president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that “the huachicol or theft of fuel exists because it has been tolerated and that before its strategy to combat it there was more illegal sale than points for legal commercialization,” the agency said that it works with the authorities and gas stations, in addition to not defending corruption activities that harm the country.

“Onexpo Nacional does not defend and will not defend those who carry out illegal activities or contrary to the best business practices in the fuel market,” said the organization that groups businessmen in the 32 entities.

According to Onexpo, the illegal market for liquid hydrocarbons is supported by parallel supply networks that generate unfair competition for companies; they affect consumers due to the dubious quality and origin of their products and also due to the informal and insecure conditions in which they operate.

The foregoing was a response to accusations by the Chief Executive, who argued that the so-called huachicol was reduced until it was admitted that it was tolerated by the industry and previous governments.

“The problem was the corruption (…) It was a tolerated mafia, because there was even in the Pemex tower, on the third floor, an entire alarm system with monitors, where the ducts were supposed to have sensors and when the pressure in the ducts dropped, the alarms sounded to avoid the huachicol. Well no; alarms sounded and he did nothing, they could be ringing all day because there was complicity, ”he said.

According to President López Obrador, fuel theft has been on the decline, going from 72,000 barrels per day in December 2018 to 5,600 in October of this year, as well as savings of more than 165,000 million pesos per day.

“We will continue to support the actions led by the federal and state authorities to continue reducing the illegal fuel market in any of its variants. All of them distort the law and are outside the best trade practices,” Onexpo stated.

karol.garcia@eleconomista.mx