The government against the fiscal huachicol: progress or bureaucratic theater?
Ah, Claudia Sheinbaum, our favorite president to announce measures with the same clarity as an instruction manual written in hieroglyphics, reported this Tuesday that the federal government has cancelled permits to importers and customs agents for the crime of fiscal huachicol. Yes, that nice term to describe how some companies play “hide the fuel” in their import declarations. Mineral oil? No, sir, it’s smuggled gasoline, but it smells like lavender.
Without giving many details (because, of course, why be transparent when we can be mysterious?), the president mentioned administrative sanctions against those who are dedicated to the illegal import of hydrocarbons. “We’ve made a lot of progress administratively,” he said, although one wonders if that “advance” includes explaining to the public how the hell these schemes work. Spoiler: no.
The art of falsifying petitions: when fuel is disguised as oil
In a revelation that surprised exactly no one, Sheinbaum admitted that there are companies that present false reports, passing off gasoline as other products. Does it sound familiar to you? It’s like when a child hides broccoli under mashed potatoes, but with legal consequences and millions of pesos at stake. “It is in the investigation process,” he assured, a phrase that in political language means “we won’t tell you anything until you forget to ask.”
And like any good drama, there is a property in the State of Mexico that supposedly stored fuel without having the necessary conditions. Come on, any building with permits as fake as Monopoly tickets. “All their permits were taken away,” Sheinbaum announced, leaving us wondering if anyone will check the hundreds of other suspicious buildings. Probably not.
Next Tuesday’s big report: promises or more smoke?
To calm the anxieties of the citizens (or at least simulate that something is being done), the president promised that next Tuesday there will be a biweekly report where the SAT and the Secretariat of Energy will reveal their actions taken. Will it be a detailed report or another speech full of generalities? We bet on the latter, but you never know. Maybe they’ll even make a graph with little arrows and everything.
Meanwhile, in Baja California, Governor Marina Del Pilar Ávila announced that the Attorney General’s Office is investigating a company from Ensenada for smuggling of hydrocarbons. The company, called Ingemar, has former PAN governor Ernesto Ruffo as a shareholder. Because, of course, in this country even former officials have their shady businesses. Is anyone surprised?
What’s next? More investigations, more announcements, and hopefully some tangible results before the next scandal distracts us. Meanwhile, the fiscal huachicol remains as Mexican as tequila and soccer games.
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