It seems like "the tale of the good pipe". I do not understand why no one can put things in their place and make a difference. I even dare to ask for forgiveness if someone convinces me that raising the price of a lemon -or little lemon- 150 times what it costs is fair. As far as I know, the plant of that fruit is sown or born in the paddocks, grows and stops for years, and does not need for the harvest the Fregat irrigation or a permanent turbine connected to the root. Most of the time it does not even need to be harvested. Those that fall to the ground fill bags.

An agronomist engineer, well prepared, excellent person and businessman, when questioned, explains that factors such as the depopulation of the fields (by migrating to the city), the drought, and the high costs of fertilizers, inputs, and seeds sustain the increase in the price of the productions at the foot of the furrow. Factors to which are added the transportation, due to the fuel and the terrible state of the roads in the mountains.

This, according to his experience, forces the merchant (no matter where and how he sells) to set a high price, otherwise, he has losses. A segment of the long-suffering consumers with a fixed salary, through a survey, says that as long as the State has resized the value of the scarce merchandise in its establishments, be it food or industrial goods, the private sector will never lower the prices. Others consider that topping them is almost a matter of taste since this decision is not respected and the inspection teams do not perform their functions cleanly and systematically.

The truth is that the cost of the dish on the table is a distressing dilemma for families, especially those with children, young people, and the elderly. They do not see any sign of relief. On the contrary, with the end of the year approaching, they wonder how much the pork and beans of the traditional ¨congrí¨ will cost... because both go up and up and up.

At the height of so many points of view, defenses to the hilt of the badly done, the lack of control, and the lack of consideration of those who behind the counter show their economic power or boast of being owners of the essential daily offers, I question until when the demand will stop imposing itself and fair numbers will be collegiate and in human balance with the salary and pensions, in the real context, with honest hand on the chest and the sacrifice of a shield.
Many prices of scarce and unstable foodstuffs (from spices to fruits) are unjustifiable. Local policymakers should act and not tolerate the law of the strongest, while private individuals could appease greed and respect the "win-win" principle (which is a methodology focused on the parties involved to achieve a satisfactory outcome of a negotiation process: one party wins and the other one wins too).

When someone sighs helplessly in front of the stage because what he has in his pocket is not enough, I hear many people justify the value in question with "Imagine, there is none, and when the State puts it on sale, it is higher". I do not believe that these patents were authorized to compete with the Government and Commerce. It is an alternative to supplement the shortages in the face of the country's economic difficulties. At the same time that a potentially useful segment of the population finds an honest way to work.
Corruption cannot be allowed at any level, even less in times of crisis, and very few primaries and elementary needs are satisfied. Pork, for example, is sold with fat and bone at 300.00. How much does a pound cost us? A package of 10 or 12 cookies at 150.00 pesos, is that reasonable? If you look at their size, and if you think about the children's snacks; such a pirouette of the market hurts the worker. Do the prices deserve or not a grounded analysis, when it is known that the income of the people does not yield and a thousand pesos vanish in a flash?

It is a complex puzzle. However, the post-pandemic stage worsens its after-effects while every hour of effort adds up to double, mainly due to the months of continuous blackouts, the spaced deliveries of modules, and even the difficulties with some products of the basic food basket. If we add that minimum daily management generates double the usual sacrifices, then it is urgent to put a red alert to the problem, without paternalism.

Overall, knowing that production and yields are far from what we need, the high cost of living is today unsustainable. Social welfare demands it and we must look deeply at the aging population that, for the most part, requires priority and is the manager of its food. If anyone wins, it has to be the ordinary citizen. I believe that the burden can be lightened.