The Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) Puebla chapter made an urgent call to the authorities this Wednesday to restore the circulation of the Mexico-Puebla highway and federal highway (kilometer 74) and the Arco Norte , two communication routes that were taken since noon on Tuesday by protesters and have been closed for more than 24 hours.
“Its prolonged closure is generating serious effects on the mobility of citizens, commerce and industry,” said Coparmex Puebla in a statement distributed on its social networks.
In the local media it has emerged that the protesters are ejidatarios who demand payment of the right of way for the use of their land in the construction of the Arco Norte , a road that is concessioned to Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en América Latina ( IDEAL) who has not made any statements in this regard.
This morning, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador indicated in his conference that behind this demonstration is “an opportunistic lawyer”, whose name he did not reveal, who seeks to “get rid of” an alleged delayed payment from decades ago and asked the protesters that they do not allow themselves to be manipulated, while ensuring that their government will not enter into negotiations with the protesters as it is not a “fair” demand.
In Mexico the seizure of communication routes is a constant. T21 published a report in the printed edition of August of this year emphasizing that road blockades are a bargaining chip for different social unrest that has occurred throughout this six-year term, despite being considered a federal crime that is punishes with penalties ranging from one to five years in prison and from 100 to 10 thousand days of fine, according to Article 167 of the Federal Penal Code.
The Mexico-Puebla corridor is highly traveled by freight motor transportation that serves various industries installed in the area, mainly for the automotive industry , where there is even an industrial cluster that supplies assembly companies such as Audi and Volkswagen .
“There are clients who have stopped shipping units to the southeast precisely so as not to expose units. It is very complicated because they are practically choking Puebla and the southeast, affecting the economy and industry,” Román Mendoza, a transporter in the Puebla area, told T21.
Likewise, he assured that currently the alternatives to avoid this blockade are the route to Morelos: Cuautla-Jantetelco-Atlixco-Periférico-Amozoc, or through Hidalgo: Tizayuca-Pachuca-Sahagún-Calpulalpan.
“The situation is regrettable, the same as always of putting pressure on roads and affecting transportation and the economy. Furthermore, we already know that the government does not act , as was stated this morning with the president,” said another source consulted who requested anonymity.
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