President López Obrador announced today that 91 municipalities where high levels of fuel theft have been detected will receive more than 3.8 billion pesos in social development aid.

Speaking at his daily press conference, López Obrador said the budget for the so-called Well-Being Plan was 3.85 billion pesos (US $200 million) and would benefit almost 1.7 million people.

Municipalities in eight states – Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Hidalgo, México state, Querétaro, Puebla and Veracruz – and Mexico City will be included.

The president said the aim of the specially tailored plan is to provide options and alternatives for citizens in the selected areas so they have the opportunity to earn a legal and honest income.

That, López Obrador said, will lead people away from crime and stop tragedies such as the petroleum pipeline explosion in Hidalgo on Friday that killed at least 91 people.

The programs that make up the Well-Being Plan are the senior citizens’ pension; the disability pension; cash grants for farmers; the “Youths Building the Future” apprenticeship scheme; grants for business owners; and the Benito Juárez National Scholarship System for students.

López Obrador said the plan has “already started” and will be consolidated next month with the delivery of funds directly to the beneficiaries.

“No resources will be given to any agency, any organization, any group,” he said.

The president said that the incidence of fuel theft has increased partially because people have been “abandoned” by past governments.

Under his administration, “people won’t be forced by poverty and necessity to . . . collect gasoline and other fuels that, as we have unfortunately seen, means risking and [even] losing one’s life,” López Obrador said.

Source: El Financiero (sp), Animal Político (sp)