評論
打印
The Americas
美洲版塊
Bello
貝約
The fuel and the fire
燃油和火
Latin America’s energy subsidies are good politics but bad policy
拉丁美洲的能源補貼政策在政治上是好的，但在政策上卻是壞的
For a month now protesters in Panama have blocked highways, prompting shortages of food and medicine in a country that for the past three decades has enjoyed social and political stability and steady economic growth.
一個月來，巴拿馬的抗議者封鎖了高速公路，在這個過去30年來一直享有社會和政治穩定、經濟穩步增長的國家，引發了食品和藥品短缺。
Their target is the price of fuel, which rose by almost half in the first six months of this year.
他們的目標是燃油價格，今年上半年燃油價格上漲了近一半。
The shaken government of President Laurentino Cortizo buckled, agreeing to cut the price of petrol to 3.25 dollars a gallon from 5.20 dollars.
搖搖欲墜的總統洛倫蒂諾·科蒂佐領導的政府屈服了，同意將汽油價格從每加侖5.20美元降至3.25美元。
But the protests continued, with unions demanding other price controls to ease living costs.
但抗議活動仍在繼續，工會要求采取其他價格控制措施，以降低生活成本。
Panama is far from alone.
不只是巴拿馬有這種情況。
With the cost of oil soaring since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, and with prices rising more generally, a string of governments across Latin America have introduced or increased subsidies on fuel to assuage protesters, or pre-empt them.
自今年2月俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭以來，油價飆升，而且油價普遍上漲，拉美各國政府紛紛出臺或增加燃料補貼，以安撫抗議者，或先發制人。
To end almost three weeks of disorder, in which seven people died last month, Ecuador’s pro-market president, Guillermo Lasso, granted subsidies on fuel and fertilisers.
為了結束上個月7人死亡導致的近三周的混亂局面，厄瓜多爾支持市場的總統吉列爾莫·拉索批準了燃油和化肥補貼。
These subsidies are worth around 0.8% of gdp, according to calculations by J.P.Morgan, a bank.
根據摩根大通銀行的計算，這些補貼約占gdp的0.8%。
Brazil’s right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, who is seeking a second term at an election in October, has been pressing Petrobras, the state-controlled oil giant, to cut prices.
巴西右翼總統賈爾·博爾索納羅正尋求在10月份的選舉中連任，他一直在向國有石油巨頭巴西國家石油公司施壓，要求其降價。
On July 27th the company said it would review its pricing policy.
7月27日，該公司表示將審查其定價政策。
In Mexico petrol prices are 35% lower than they would otherwise be, as the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has spent higher oil revenues on a subsidy equal to 1% of gdp.
由于安德烈斯·曼努埃爾·洛佩斯·奧夫拉多爾政府將GDP的1%的石油收入用于補貼，墨西哥的汽油價格比原來低了35%。
When protests broke out in Peru in April the government scrapped a fuel tax and announced other tax cuts, totalling perhaps 0.9% of gdp.
當4月份秘魯爆發抗議活動時，政府取消了一項燃油稅，并宣布了其他減稅措施，總額可能相當于GDP的0.9%。
In the Dominican Republic this month the government suspended a plan to wind down electricity subsidies.
在多米尼加共和國，政府本月暫停了一項逐步減少電力補貼的計劃。
Both Chile and Colombia have augmented stabilisation funds which smooth the rise in fuel prices.
智利和哥倫比亞都增加了穩定基金，以平息燃料價格的上漲。
