Photo: iStock

XINHUA

The Mexican government will take additional measures to counter rising inflation as part of the package against inflation and famine that took effect in May, Secretary of Finance Rogelio Ramirez de la O announced here Tuesday, Aug. 2.

That package consisted of freezing the price on 24 basic products that Mexicans consume on a regular basis.

However, despite that program, prices have continued to skyrocket in Mexico.

Now, Ramírez de la O said that the government will not raise the cost of energy, but will accelerate the import of basic products while limiting the export of white corn to increase reserves.

Without the former package, he said, Mexico’s inflation rate would be 10.7 percent and not the current 8.16 percent.

He said the higher inflation would have caused a sharp fall in household consumption, which would consequently lead to the fall of sales volume, the VAT (value-added tax) and even all economic movements, forcing the Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico) to raise interest rates even more.

Notwithstanding, Banxico is expected to again raise it base rate by 75 points during its next meeting, and on Wednesday, Aug. 3, Bank of America predicted that the country will continue to suffer severe inflation and a zero growth rate in 2023.