The Electrical Miracle of 99.82%: An Achievement That Is Not (Completely) For Everyone
In a display of efficiency that could well be classified as almost miraculous, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), under the direction of director Emilia Calleja Alor, has announced with great fanfare that the energy service has been restored to a chilling 99.82% after the recent rains. Yes, you read correctly: it is not 100%, that mystical and perfect number, but that decimal that allows the authorities to celebrate a victory while 466 souls in Hidalgo continue to wonder, in the dark, when they will see the light again. Literally.
One can almost imagine the scene: the head of the State productive company connects remotely – because what better way to evaluate a crisis than from the comfort of a screen – to the morning conference to detail this milestone in the generation and distribution of energy. With the precision of a Swiss watchmaker, but with the speed of a bureaucratic procedure, we are informed that Veracruz, Puebla, San Luis Potosí and Querétaro already enjoy glorious 100% electrification. Meanwhile, Hidalgo is the poor relation who, for now, has been left a little behind in this banquet of volts and amps.
The Heroic Effort (and the 466 Forgotten)
With rhetoric that mixes corporate pride with a touch of anticipated justification, director Calleja did not hesitate to attribute this “success” to the “leadership” of the president and the “effort of the great workers of the CFE.” Because, of course, in these situations, the recognition always flows upwards and towards the teams in the field, those anonymous electricians who are sent to the “most remote communities” to fight an epic battle against wet cables and flooded substations. They are expected to resolve the problem “very soon,” an expression as vague and comforting as “sorry, we missed it.”
And as if distributing electricity were not enough, the CFE has also become an unexpected telephone operator, delivering 7,880 cell phone chips for free. An undoubtedly useful measure, which makes one wonder: is it so that those 466 users without electricity can at least illuminate their faces with the mobile screen while they wait? The gesture is laudable, although one cannot help but think if it would not have been more effective to concentrate all the resources on, I don’t know, restoring the electricity supply once and for all.
The thanks to “fellow electricians” sounds genuine, and it probably is. They are the ones who really work hard to make the numbers add up. While the speeches are being given at the National Palace, these helmeted heroes are in the mud, making the 99.82% miracle a reality. A magnificent percentage, without a doubt, unless you are unlucky enough to belong to that remaining 0.18%. For them, the party of total restoration has not yet begun.
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