Attention travelers: Truckers and farmers announce mega-blockade on April 6
Truckers and farmers are set to protest on highways across Mexico next Monday, April 6, in a collective effort to create another so-called megabloqueo, or mega-blockade.
The National Truckers Association (ANTAC) and the National Front for the Rescue of the Countryside (FNRCM) have confirmed that a nationwide protest against insecurity on highways and other problems will take place on Easter Monday.
ANTAC leader David Estévez Gamboa said in a video message that April 6 was deliberately chosen as the protest date so as not to affect people using the nation’s highways during the Holy Week holiday period.
“We want people to be able to go on vacation, we’re not irresponsible. But after, on April 6, we have the need to protest,” he said, calling the planned action a “national strike.”
Despite those remarks, it appears inevitable that some vacationers (and many other motorists) will be affected by highway blockades next Monday. School holidays will not end until Friday of next week.
The protest planned for Monday will take place some four months after truckers and farmers blocked highways for days on end to call on the federal government to combat insecurity and extortion and provide more support for producers of crops such as corn and beans.
Estévez asserted that authorities are not interested in resolving the problem of insecurity on Mexico’s highways, a view the federal government rejects. According to the protest organizers, security problems on highways include robberies, abductions, homicides and acts of extortion perpetrated by members of security forces. Eraclio Rodríguez, an FNRCM delegate in Chihuahua, told the Reforma newspaper that the federal Agriculture Ministry hasn’t fulfilled commitments it made to farmers in December.
To express their opposition to the prevailing situation, Estévez called on protesters to “paralyze absolutely everything” next Monday — i.e., bring the country, or at least its highways, to a standstill.
In addition to urging the government to address security problems on highways, truckers and farmers are set to make a range of other demands next Monday. Those demands include:
- The permanent presence of the National Guard on stretches of highway known for crime.
- A reduction in the price of diesel and the elimination of the IEPS tax on that fuel.
- The urgent repair of potholes on highways.
- The provision of subsidies to offset the increase in the price of agricultural inputs.
- Action against dumping of agricultural products in the Mexican market.
- Access to development bank loans for sole proprietor truckers.
- Access to medical treatment at IMSS Bienestar facilities, including for work-related chronic illnesses.
- Access to housing schemes designed specifically for transport workers.
Estévez said that the trucking and agricultural sectors are a “key part” of the Mexican economy, and asserted that to date there has been “no clear solution” to the problems they face.
Which highways will be affected?
ANTAC and FNRCM have not yet confirmed which highways they intend to block next Monday. However, various media outlets reported that total or partial blockades are expected on numerous highways, including:
- The Mexico City-Querétaro highway.
- The Mexico City-Cuernavaca highway.
- The Mexico City-Pachuca highway.
- The Mexico City-Puebla highway.
- The Culiacán-Mazatlán highway.
- The Morelia-Pátzcuaro highway.
- The Salamanca-Celaya highway.
- Federal Highway 45.
- Federal Highway 49.
- Federal Highway 15D.
The highway blockades are expected to commence on Monday morning, with most to be set up by 7 a.m.
According to the newspaper Milenio, takeovers of customs offices and blockades at border crossings to the United States are also expected. Such actions were part of last November’s mega-blockade.
Interior Ministry claims there is ‘no motive’ for the planned protest
The federal Interior Ministry (Segob) released a statement on Tuesday in response to the announcement that truckers and farmers will protest next Monday.
The ministry said that “mechanisms” have already been established to “guarantee conditions for dialogue” between truckers, farmers and the government, and to ensure the “solution to their problems.”
Segob asserted that a range of concerns, including those related to highway security, have been addressed in a “timely manner.”
The ministry said that agricultural sector demands, including ones “focused on conflicts that affect transport [of goods] and productive activity,” have also been addressed and “relevant agreements” between the sector and authorities have been reached.
In that context, “there is no motive for the protest” planned for Monday, Segob asserted.
“The Mexican government reiterates its ongoing commitment to open, respectful, and institutional dialogue with all organizations in the agricultural and transportation sectors,” the ministry said.
Referring to the transport sector, Segob said that “specific working sessions have been held, leading to agreements aimed at improving safety, regulation, and operational efficiency on highways.”
Regarding specific “actions” implemented, the Interior Ministry highlighted “the strengthening of security operations in coordination with federal authorities” and “the supervision of inspection checkpoints,” among others.
With reports from Milenio, Debate, N+, Excélsior and Reforma
The post Attention travelers: Truckers and farmers announce mega-blockade on April 6 appeared first on Mexico News Daily
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