No, you have the wrong story. The government heavily subsidises the price of fuel for its citizens as part of a very limited social welfare system.
Very wisely, that same government expects foreigners to pay the normal price for fuel, a price which is quite reasonable by any standards and not out of line with adjacent countries.

Trouble is that many tourists who spend a fortune getting there and who are very rich by local standards, go to all sorts of lengths to get around the system and then complain if they can't.

If you do find an outlet willing to sell for less than the official price, you can be pretty sure the difference just goes into the pockets of the staff.

Not unusual for tourists to pay extra - or rather the right amount.. For instance, foreigners pay up to 5 times what the locals pay to get into nearly all national parks in Argentina, Chile and Brazil. The prices charged are not too different from the prices charged for entry at similar attractions back home.

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Tony Lee
Photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/114611728110254134379
Travels map at https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=5cfc50ef7ac22ca2d&hoursPast=2400&...