Never-ending blackouts drive angry Mérida residents to the street

A citizens’ blockade has diverted traffic from a García Ginerés street while a major blackout approached 48 hours.
An apparently overloaded transformer exploded around 6 p.m. Wednesday, leaving property owners without power during a major April heatwave.
Residents are fed up with power outages, including a current one that has dragged out into its third day. So several residents have dragged out milk crates and stools to keep anyone from going down the street.
They are led by Sara Gomez, who said her Six convenience store has lost thousands of pesos in business and inventory because of poor service from the CFE, the government-owned electricity commission.

Her son, 8-year-old Adrian Solis, stands behind a sign that reads “Negocio cerrado por falta de luz / CFE repara el transformada” — explaining that the business is closed due to lack of light and the CFE needs to repair the transformer. Her red work apron now serves as a flag to alert drivers.
Police are standing by, but a neighbor said they are just passively monitoring the situation and are in sympathy with her plight.
Earlier: Widespread blackouts plague Mérida’s north

Yucatán Magazine has the inside scoop on living here. Sign up to get our top headlines delivered to your inbox every week.