“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
Something as common as buying a beer in an Oxxo store is practically impossible. Testimonies point to the Familia Michoacana as being responsible.
In Taxco, Guerrero, La Familia Michoacana, in addition to extorting merchants, also decides who sells beer and at what price.
Something as common as buying a beer in an Oxxo store is practically impossible in the magical town; alcohol is only sold in stores authorized by organized crime.
-They hardly sell beer, do they?
“No, not here in Taxco.
-And why is that?
“Only in a few places, we have regulations here”.
-But, is it because of the city council?
“No, because of organized crime,” said a merchant whose identity will not be revealed for security reasons.
The Familia Michoacána decided that in Taxco the Oxxo convenience stores and the Neto corner shops cannot sell alcoholic beverages. In the case of the Neto stores they only sell bottles of tequila and whiskey, but not beer.
-Excuse me, good afternoon, don’t you have any beer?
“No, we don’t sell beer.
-No bottles?
“No.
-And why is that? They sell them in all the Oxxos.
“I wouldn’t know,” said a cashier.
In fact, on the door of an Oxxo store located a few meters from Taxco’s central plaza, there is a sign warning that no alcoholic beverages are sold.
In the center of this magical town kidnapped by organized crime, there are five stores that can sell alcohol because they have the approval of the bosses from the Familia Michoacana.
These establishments are located on Miguel Hidalgo Street, a couple of blocks from the municipal presidency.
Each business offers beer at different prices, in order to make a profit: “Whats the price for a Modelo six pack of canned beers? The can retails for 186 pesos, and the 473 ml. beer is at 198 pesos”.
The Corona 330 ml. is sold for 186, an average of 31 pesos per beer, when its real cost is 19 pesos per can; while three cans can be bought for 198 pesos, around 66 pesos per piece, when its authorized price in any store is around 33 pesos.
“What price is the Corona 330 ml., 186 pesos, and what price is the 473 ml, 198 for three cans” said a woman who works in a store that when questioned about why few businesses sell alcohol, only laughed nervously and evaded the subject.
In Taxco no one wants to talk about the extortion suffered by merchants for years. During 2023, at least four merchants were murdered for refusing to pay extortion; among the victims are butchers, tortilla shop owners and water purifiers.
Tortilla vendors, grocery stores, butchers, chicken vendors, cab drivers, hoteliers, and silver merchants also have to pay a fee; for the latter the fee is higher because of the profits they make from their sales.
We sought the position of the mayor of Taxco, Mario Figueroa, but his press team informed that he would not give interviews in order to avoid hindering the investigations already being carried out by the prosecutor’s office in this case.
