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Rising Fuel Prices Set Off Anger and Protests Around the World

From Indonesia to Guatemala to Syria, shortages and price increases are leading to protests and blackouts.

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VideoEnergy Price Hikes Cause Global Protests0:58

Reporting from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Sept. 15, 2026Leer en español

The world is furious — again — over rising energy prices caused by the American-Israeli war against Iran.

Since the latest surge pushed oil above $100 a barrel, protesters have burned tires and cars in Guatemala and Syria to express their rage.

Portugal’s roads have featured cars crawling in protest with honking horns after diesel reached a record high of more than $9 a gallon.

And especially in the developing countries of Asia, which are heavily reliant on Middle Eastern energy and deep in debt from earlier efforts to offset the war’s impacts, transport systems and governments are facing another round of enormous strain.

Fuel shortages and long lines at the pump are slowing economies along with strikes by taxi drivers and laborers who see no point in working when earnings barely cover energy costs.

Many countries are confronting a difficult question: Is it riskier to pass on price increases to a combustible public, accelerating inflation, or bolster subsidies and aid that would drive up public debt and possibly threaten the stability of national currencies?

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