Protests over skyrocketing fuel prices and rolling blackouts have erupted across multiple continents, as the now monthslong US war with Iran continues to drive up energy costs worldwide.
Oil prices climbed back above $100 per barrel last week following further US strikes on Iranian oil tankers in the Gulf and renewed fighting in Yemen that threatens shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
For the United States, the surge has meant elevated gas prices and stark warnings for households that rely on heating oil to stay warm in winter, with analysts forecasting a 30% price jump amid the Iran war. For less wealthy nations, the toll on national finances and household budgets has been even more severe, with public patience wearing thin.
As fuel costs ratchet upward, so does the anger of people who can no longer afford to drive to work, run their businesses or access essential services.
Syria
A steep rise in fuel prices over the weekend ignited protests across Syria, marking the largest demonstrations in the country since the fall of the Assad regime two years ago.
The government temporarily raised diesel prices to 175 Syrian pounds ($1.43) per liter, roughly a 40% hike, and increased gas prices by more than 25%, according to the Syrian news agency SANA.
The Syrian Energy Ministry attributed the increases to surging global fuel prices and ongoing maintenance at the country's largest refinery, Baniyas, which has increased reliance on imports, SANA reported.
While dozens of protests have been peaceful, demonstrators on Sunday blocked the Hasaka–Deir ez-Zor highway, burning tires and stopping oil tankers, according to ACLED, a global conflict monitor.
"Fuel availability, rising prices, falling purchasing power, and poor services are all reasons that have accumulated public resentment, although demands are also shifting toward reversing decisions and removing officials, including the energy minister, showing that economic grievances are turning into grievances against the government," said Muaz Al Abdullah, a Syria analyst at ACLED.
Guatemala
In Guatemala, organized truckers and other protesters blocked highways and caused damage in various parts of the country last week to protest rising fuel prices, according to the Associated Press. Other videos from local media showed people marching peacefully through Guatemala City to demand immediate government action.
Congress is now working to address the discontent through a proposed law that would cap prices until the end of the year, though the bill is still moving through the legislative process, according to Guatemala's national news agency AGN. If passed, the government would subsidize fuel importers when prices exceed the established cap, according to AP.
"This is an issue that must be resolved as a country. The executive, the legislative, and everyone else involved must resolve it. People cannot pay these prices and not feel the impact on their finances," said Congress President Luis Contreras Colindres in an address Monday.
"Diesel is the engine that drives this country's economy," Contreras said, according to AGN.
Portugal
Protests took place Saturday in the coastal city of Espinho, Portugal, against both rising gas prices and the soaring cost of living. About 80 people participated in the demonstration, organized by local business leaders to pressure the government for solutions, according to Portugal's Lusa News Agency. Protesters marched to the home of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese Firefighters' League has warned that surging fuel prices are becoming unsustainable for fire brigades and saddling volunteer organizations with costs they cannot keep up with.
On Monday, the government announced a new package of measures to ease the fuel price crunch, including support for freight transporters, taxi drivers, the fire service and the social sector, Lusa reported.
France
About 50 fishermen blockaded a major fuel depot Tuesday in the coastal southern French town of Fos-sur-Mer, in part to protest rising fuel prices, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. The blockade lasted several hours and protesters briefly clashed with police.
Mayor Philippe Maurizot said the town's fishing industry faces a "profound crisis that demands an urgent and strong response from the state," adding that the protesters' anger "must be heard."
"Rising costs, increased fuel prices, a growing number of constraints, insufficient income, and a lack of visibility are placing some professionals in an untenable situation," he said in a letter addressed to the French prime minister.
Philippines
Workers of the Philippine transport group Manibela went on strike Monday to protest fuel price hikes, calling for government subsidies and scrapped fuel taxes.
Petroleum companies in the country announced another round of price increases effective Tuesday, with gas rising by 5.68 pesos per liter, according to the Philippine News Agency. Diesel and kerosene prices were also hiked again this week.
"We know that every increase at the pump affects more than the cost of filling up a vehicle. It affects the daily budget of families, the livelihood of our drivers, and the operating costs of businesses," Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said Tuesday as she announced the government had cleared a hurdle to potentially reduce excise taxes on petroleum products.
Bus drivers and motorists have struggled for months amid rising costs, which surged drastically in March and remain elevated compared to pre-war prices. At the height of the country's fuel crisis in March, about a month after the Iran war began, people in Manila marched toward the presidential palace to express discontent.
"The Philippines should stand up and call for an end to the US aggression against Iran. The impact of the oil disruption affects us all. We might not have been hit by bombs, but we are being hit by poverty and hunger because of the rise in oil prices," trade union leader Jerome Adonis said in late March. Student unions have also joined protests against a wider cost of living crisis.
All Pakistan Goods Transporters' Alliance President Malik Shehzad Awan criticized the federal government over repeated increases in petroleum prices, warning that transporters could take to the roads if agreements with the government are not implemented.
Awan said frequent changes in diesel and petrol prices were placing additional pressure on the transport sector and the wider economy, translating into higher transportation expenses and upward pressure on essential commodity prices.
"People are being hit with a diesel and petrol bomb every day, while businesses are suffering and unemployment is rising."
He said transporters did not want to be forced to announce increases in freight charges daily because of continued volatility in fuel prices, and urged the petroleum minister to reconsider the government's pricing policy. Awan recalled that during a nationwide strike by goods transporters in August, the petroleum minister had assured them fuel prices would not change daily.
According to Awan, diesel prices had increased by Rs23 per liter and petrol prices by Rs25 per liter over the past 18 days.
