The PRI is targeting SIAPA's rate hike: injunctions and protests announced

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Jalisco has declared war on the recent water rate hike, announcing a collective injunction and days of protest in Guadalajara to reverse what they describe as a "robbery" of the public.

The lives of Guadalajara residents are facing another blow to their pockets, and the political response has been swift. Following the approval of a 9.6% increase in rates for the Intermunicipal System of Drinking Water and Sewerage Services (SIAPA), the PRI Jalisco party has launched an all-out offensive to stop the measure, arguing that the service is deficient and the increase unjustified.

The president of the PRI's state committee, Laura Haro, spearheaded the announcement, making it clear that this is not just a political stance, but a call to citizen action. The party will begin the process of filing a class-action injunction, inviting all residents of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (AMG) to join.

The core of the PRI's argument is a contradiction that resonates in thousands of homes: why pay more for a service that doesn't improve? Laura Haro used direct language designed to connect with popular frustration.

"The water that you, your neighbor, receive in your home will continue to be this color, if it gets to you at all. Dirty water, orange water like the Citizen Movement. This rate hike is a rip-off." – Laura Haro, President of the PRI (Pri Party of Jalisco).

The PRI's strategy is not limited to the legal sphere. They have announced that they will tour various neighborhoods in the ZMG (Madrid Metropolitan Region) to collect signatures and recruit citizens to the protection order. They are also urging the public to file formal complaints with the Jalisco State Human Rights Commission (CEDHJ), highlighting an alarming statistic: SIAPA is now the entity with the highest number of complaints before this body, even surpassing the Attorney General's Office.

This "tariff increase," as the opposition has dubbed it, didn't come out of nowhere. It was approved in the Jalisco Congress thanks to the votes of the Citizen Movement (MC) party and its allied parties, in a decision the PRI has described as a "betrayal" of Jalisco families.

Pressure on SIAPA isn't just coming from the PRI. Representatives from the Labor Party (PT) have also entered the fray, proposing the creation of a special commission to thoroughly audit the agency's finances and operations. This measure seeks to shed light on the management of resources and determine whether the rate increase is truly justified by operational needs or if it responds to other interests.

While politicians debate in Congress and at press conferences, citizens have found their own battleground: social media. Platforms like TikTok have been filled with videos from users denouncing the situation, showing dirty water coming out of their taps or streets flooded by untreated leaks.

Comments like "thousands live without water or receive only water rationing" and "once again, we pay more for less" have gone viral, reflecting deep and widespread discontent. The popular narrative is clear and points to poor management that now demands more money in exchange for the same or worse results. Some comments even delve deeper into local politics, stating that "Lemus and Alfaro are the same," linking the current governor to his predecessor's policies and consolidating a perception of continuity in the problems.

The PRI appears to be capitalizing on this sentiment, positioning itself as the vehicle to channel popular outrage into concrete legal action. The battle over the cost of water in Guadalajara is just beginning, and will be fought both in the courts and in the public eye.