A small group of disgruntled taxpayers in Mexicali has built 15 giant rat traps that they're trying to place outside the homes of lawmakers who recently voted for a tax increase on public utilities such as water services. Now they just need to find out where the "two-legged rats" nest at night.
The protest group, known as the National Citizen Congress of Mexicali, is asking Mexicans on social media for help locating the home addresses of the 15 “traitor Judases” so they can deliver the giant rat traps.
The group uploaded a video on their Facebook page on Saturday. It's since been shared thousands of times on Mexican social media.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DnqMflUJFZA
“Let’s do it for our kids and future generations. They will learn that things will no longer be that easy for these parasites,” a protester says in the video. “These parasites that live at the expense of us who fight and work everyday to provide for our families.”
The group also hung giant posters from the city’s pedestrian bridges with the photographs of the politicians.
The stunt aimed against the so-called privatization of water comes amid growing protests in Mexico over a spike in prices, particularly at the gas pump. Hundreds of Mexicans have blocked gas stations, highways and roads throughout the country in the past few days to denounce a gas-price hike known as el gasolinazo.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto had promised the country’s finance and energy reforms would help keep gas prices low. But the slow implementation of the reforms combined with a global collapse of oil prices and the mismanagement of the state-owned oil company PEMEX has put additional pressure on the industry and pump prices.
The cost of basic food products and imports is also on the rise as the peso falls against the dollar.
And even though the country’s minimum wage has risen 9.58% this year to 80.04 pesos (approximately $4) the vast majority of Mexicans is finding it increasingly hard to keep up with daily expenses.