The World - News from July 31, 1989

Tortilla vendors, defying strict government price controls, raised the price on the staple by 45% in Mexico City, the government newspaper El Nacional said. The paper said its reporters encountered indignation among homemakers during a tour of tortilla factories over the weekend. The official price of tortillas is 275 pesos a kilo, or about 6 cents a pound. But over the weekend, tortillas were selling for 400 pesos a kilo in most shops, or about 8 cents a pound, the paper said. The price increase came in defiance of a nationwide pact on wage and price controls that was put in place after inflation hit a record 159% in 1987.