Once again, national roads are blocked to demonstrate for social conflicts, affecting the operation of national auto transport. Faced with this situation, the National Chamber of Cargo Auto Transport (Canacar) through its president, Miguel Ángel Martínez Millán, sent a letter addressed to the Secretary of the Interior, Luisa María Alcalde Luján, requesting her intervention so that the blockade that ejidatarios have maintained active for more than 48 hours at km 146 of the northern bypass of Mexico City, Pachuca-Tulancingo section, better known as Arco Norte, is attended to as soon as possible.
“It is unsustainable for citizens and for freight transport to remain in suspense and in constant uncertainty due to the recurring closure actions carried out by these local groups. We call on Canacar to find a definitive and in the best terms a solution to the problem and to comply with the rule of law for all Mexicans in strict adherence to the law and human rights of all people involved, as well as those affected by unilateral actions that do not contribute to the growth and development of Mexico,” said Martínez Millán.
In the document that was received by the Directorate of Control Management of the Ministry of the Interior (Segob) and by the Official Parts Office, the representative of the transporters stated that the prompt release of the communication routes is essential to avoid a repeat of what happened a few weeks ago.
“Since the operators are in inappropriate conditions, being stranded in the middle of the road and not having access to food, spaces to meet their basic needs and rest, in addition to opening up the possibility of being victims of crimes ,” reads the message.
It should be noted that this situation was exposed in the Grupo T21 report of August 2024, where it was stated that despite the fact that obstructing communication routes is considered a federal crime in Mexico, punishable by penalties ranging from one to five years in prison and 100 to 10 thousand days of fines, according to Article 167 of the Federal Penal Code, the taking of roads and toll booths as a form of pressure against the authorities is increasingly frequent, affecting not only those involved, but also the thousands of road users who are stranded to their fate for hours, even days.
At the time, Ángel Hernández Gaytán, general director of STI , explained that these actions cause disruptions and chaos in terms of mobility. “Specifically for the trucking companies, the repercussions range from delays in delivery times, route deviations or reconfiguration in the operational planning of a route, which causes an increase in operating costs, greater mileage in the units and, therefore, loss of productivity. As well as impacts on the supply chain due to just -in-time movements, but above all it causes wear and tear and stress in the operators.”
In the letter addressed to Mayor Luján, the president of Canacar urged an end to the conflict that undermines companies, “violates the right to free movement of people and harms our country.”
Although blockades are unfortunately already the daily bread of national highways, Carlos Salas Buz, who is part of the Committee of the Association of Cranes, Equipment and Industrial Devices (AGEDI) , detailed in the aforementioned report that, given the seriousness of the effects, it is necessary to take into account that there are other mechanisms to achieve changes, through dialogue with the authorities and the rapprochement of the parties involved .
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