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Updated June 29th, 2022 at 12:14 IST

In Argentina, fuel shortage and rising food prices spark protests and social unrest

Argentina is just one of many South American nations experiencing repercussions from rising gasoline costs, which are mostly due to Russia's conflict in Ukraine

Reported by: Anwesha Majumdar
Argentina
Image: AP | Image:self
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In the wake of fuel shortage and rising prices across South America, police in Argentina obstructed a significant entry point to the capital's centre to prevent a group of angry truckers from joining a downtown protest. According to an Associated Press report, Argentina is just one of many South American nations experiencing repercussions from rising gasoline costs, which are mostly due to Russia's conflict in Ukraine.  

As trucks proceeded to carry a protest over weeks-long diesel shortages and pricing to Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, traffic was held up for several kilometres before truckers decided to free up a lane for ordinary traffic. Furthermore, the truckers in Argentina who are protesting also want higher grain transportation fees.  

Due to a lack of diesel in gas stations around the nation, truckers have been demonstrating for weeks and their botched attempt to access the capital was an effort to draw the attention of President Alberto Fernandez's administration, Associated Press reported.  

Fuel protests in South America

Apart from Argentina, in Ecuador, at least five people have lost their lives in over two weeks of an Indigenous-led protest against the demand for reduced gasoline prices. On Monday, truckers in Peru began an indefinite strike in protest of increasing fuel costs. 

Furthermore, executive offices are also feeling the effects of increasing pricing. The head of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras resigned last week under political pressure to lower prices. Petrol and fuel costs which are on the rise are hurting drivers all around the world. According to an Associated Press report, this is mostly because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the recovery of the global economy from the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, in numerous Latin American nations, this suffering is escalating into social upheaval as rising energy prices and accelerating inflation make it impossible for many people to make ends meet in one of the most unequal parts of the globe. 

Argentina is facing issues acquiring fuel in 23 of Argentina's 24 provinces

Meanwhile, since there are issues acquiring fuel in 23 of Argentina's 24 provinces, as per the federation of truckers, the demonstration in Argentina differs from previous comparable protests in the area since it has more to do with shortages than excessive pricing. The Argentine government has even promised that the supply issues would be resolved quickly. In a local radio interview on Saturday, Alexis Guerrera, the minister of transportation, stated that everything should return to normal over the next 15 or 20 days. 

Argentina strictly regulates gas prices at the pump and gets around one-fourth of its diesel needs from imports. The biggest producer and refiner of oil in Argentina, state-controlled YPF, announced on Monday that it will import 10 cargoes of diesel over the course of the following 45 days to assist ease the shortfall. 

Due to Argentina's dependency on diesel for transportation of products to ports and the agricultural sector, fuel supply has not kept up with demand, causing a bottleneck at a crucial period for the nation's crop harvest. According to a recent analysis by the Argentine Energy Institute, Argentina's diesel sales climbed by 16% in the 12 months ended in April, but production increased by less than half that amount, 7%. 

(Image: AP)

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Published June 29th, 2022 at 12:14 IST

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