On 22 August, 2012, the Mexican Secretariat of Economy publicly acknowledged the sudden and considerable rise in the price of fresh eggs, a staple food in the Mexican diet. The Secretariat also announced the ceasing of tariffs imposed on the import of eggs, seeking to stabilise the market, reduce the price of the product and ensure supply for the population.

However, the increasing price of such an important food product has generated commercial speculation and malpractice, which, in turn, have led to discontent and suspicion among consumers. Meanwhile, most authorities have limited their response to condemning the facts [es].

The professor and economist Arturo Damm Arnal [es] expressed his disapproval of the strategy launched by the Secretariat of Economy:

Cualquier estudiante de economía que haya cursado Economía I sabe 1) qué son los precios, 2) qué tareas desempeñan, y 3) qué se requiere para que las desempeñen de la mejor manera posible, razón por la cual sabe cuáles son las consecuencias de la manipulación gubernamental de los precios misma que, más allá de las buenas intenciones del manipulador —sin olvidar que de buenas intenciones está empedrado el camino al infierno— siempre termina siendo un tiro por la culata, algo que, por lo visto, no acaban de entender en la Secretaría de Economía, que muchas veces actúa como si fuera Secretaría de Antieconomía, olvidando (lo cual supone que alguna vez lo supieron, lo cual puede implicar suponer más de la cuenta) lo que todo estudiante que haya cursado Economía I sabe: que la manipulación gubernamental de precios impide que, ante los fenómenos de escasez o sobreoferta, los mercados se ajusten hacia el equilibrio.

Furthermore, in his Twitter account (@ArturoDammArnal) [es] Professor Damm Arnal stated:

@ArturoDammArnal: El que el gobierno autorice la importación de huevos es muestra de lo mucho que falta para tener verdadero libre comercio. ¡Qué verguenza!

Photo: J. Tadeo

Moreover, the Head of Government for the Federal District, Marcelo Ebrard (@m_ebrard) [es], announced the distribution of eggs at a regular price in Tlalpan (south zone), the biggest territorial extension area of the 16 areas that comprise the Federal District.  This was done to guarantee the supply of eggs to the capital.

However, this has been deemed to be a populist measure as interpreted [es] by some Mexicans:

@m_ebrard: Hoy trailer de huevo a 20 pesos en Tlalpan

The communicator Diane Pérez (@DraDianePerez) [es] made the following recommendation to those affected by the rise in price:

@DraDianePerez: Si no quieres ser víctima de la especulación y los altos costos del huevo, evita su consumo hasta la estabilización de su precio. Favor RT

Meanwhile, Twitter user @rojomon9 [es] shared with her followers the way in which she heard the news:

@rojomon9: Llevaba dos meses sin ver un noticiero mexicano, le pongo a Lopez Doriga y lo primero que veo es “a este país nunca le han faltado huevos”

Regarding the news that this essential product was imported by the United States of America (once customs duty had been lifted), users like Anonymous Hispano (@anonopshispano) [es] asked the following question:

@anonopshispano: Ingresan a México las primeras 400 toneladas de huevo de EU – http://ow.ly/d9Kvy  ¿Y por qué precisamente tenían que ser de EU?

Twitter user Antonella Torrinco (@TonyTorrinco) [es] noted that the price of a kilo of eggs had almost reached the daily minimum wage, which in the Federal District is $62.33 Mexican pesos (approximately €3.66 or $4.75 US dollars):

@TonyTorrinco: Mientras tanto en México el precio del kilo de huevo esta a punto de igualar al salario mínimo

Finally, the Twitter user Juan Ciudadano (@ZapataMty) [es] took the opportunity to compare the increase in the price of eggs with the resolution about to be declared by the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Branch (TEPJF) about the validity of July's presidential elections, which were contested by one of the candidates that did not win the election.

@ZapataMty: El HUEVO y el TEPJF pueden causar “revueltas” en México. -En los próximos días Pongan atención al precio del Huevo y al fallo del tribunal.

Considering that 46.2% of the Mexican population lives in poverty and that around 12% of the economically active population earn the minimum wage [es], the sudden and excessive increase in price for such a widely consumed product is bad news for millions of Mexicans.