A new chapter in the history of militarized customs in Mexico opened this Monday.
Around 100 administrative and operational workers from the Manzanillo customs office , mostly civilian personnel, have gathered at the southern entrance to the port since 6:30 a.m. today to peacefully demonstrate for improvements in their working conditions.
The videos circulating on social media so far featuring direct interviews with employees refer to situations ranging from reduced working hours to alleged unjustified dismissals.
One of the interviewees summarizes the demands of his colleagues
- Respect for working hours, as workdays have supposedly been extended to 16 continuous hours from Monday to Saturday, with no lunch breaks.
- Workplace harassment. The interviewee reports that some employees have been forced to sign their “voluntary” resignations without further explanation from authorities.
- The protesters are requesting the presence of the head of the General Directorate of Customs Operations; Resources and Services of the Mexican National Customs Agency (ANAM) ; and the director general of the National Port System Administration (Asipona) in Manzanillo .
- Likewise, employees are demanding the hiring of more staff and the purchase of computer equipment, given the lack of sufficient equipment.
- They are also demanding timely payment of their salaries, as they have experienced unjustified delays.
“We want to negotiate, we want to work, we are customs officers, and we want to free up the port as long as our individual rights are respected,” the interviewee told Plataforma Informativa.
The videos also show the presence of riot police , but so far no confrontations have been recorded between them and the protesters.
Asipona Manzanillo issued a statement confirming that “ship scheduling and dock operations continue as normal… we have initiated a special operation to assist drivers on the fiscal route, waiting to load their cargo. Our goal is to minimize any impact on logistics and ensure the smooth operation of port operations.”
According to sources consulted by T21, Manzanillo customs authorities have begun contacting protesters to negotiate the release of the port.
Meanwhile, the Manzanillo Port Community (Copoma) , made up of Asipona Manzanillo and port users, issued a statement specifying that the blockage is occurring at the southern access, while the northern access remains operational.
“(…) we urge you to avoid sending units to the southern area of the port of Manzanillo,” according to the statement, which also invited all interested parties to come to Copoma to establish working groups, generate agreements regarding the needs they express, and obtain official information.
Military for customs
Former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador decided that customs administration would be managed by military or naval personnel (in the case of port customs), although since the beginning of this year, the leadership of ANAM has been held by Rafael Marín Mollinedo , a civil servant close to the ruling Morena party.
Just last April 15, it was announced that Captain Rodolfo Torres Chávez was appointed to head the Manzanillo customs office, the second-highest in revenue collection in the country.
Port authority statistics indicate that just over four thousand trucking units enter the port daily to pick up or unload merchandise.
In terms of tax collection, the Manzanillo customs office is the second most active in the country, behind only the Nuevo Laredo customs office, Mexico’s most important border crossing with the United States.
Photo: Taken from the Facebook account of Diario Vigia.
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