Mexican Residents Make Do Without Government Aid

October 28, 2023 4:10 am

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — In the absence of government aid, Acapulco’s desperate residents have cleaned out the city’s largest stores in three days. It wasn’t isolated to any particular neighborhood or carried out under cover of darkness, but widespread and in full view of authorities who have conceded they do not have the resources or in most cases the will to intervene. It is in part the result of a government reaction delayed by the historically fast strengthening of a storm that no one forecast to go from tropical storm to catastrophic Category 5 hurricane in 12 hours. It is also a continuation of a government strategy that addresses problems — drug violence, natural disasters — with personnel, but not necessarily the tools to resolve the situation.