The Secretary of the Interior of Puebla, Javier Aquino, reports that the highway, the federal highway, and also the Arco Norte have been “fully reopened in both directions.”
The Mexico-Puebla highway has been unblocked. After five days of protest, millions in economic losses and a negotiation that has reached the federal government, the Ejidatarios of Santa Rita Tlahuapan have withdrawn their camps.
The Secretary of the Interior of Puebla, Javier Aquino, has reported that the highway, the federal highway, and also the Arco Norte have been “fully reopened in both directions.” The dialogue between the authorities and the landowners is still ongoing.
On Tuesday morning, chaos began on one of the main communication routes for trade between Mexico City and the southeast of the country. The reason for the blockade dates back decades.
The peasants of Santa Rita Tlahuapan, a town in Puebla located 80 kilometers from the capital, reopened an old Ejidal conflict for which, they claim, the federal government did not comply with all the payments for the expropriation 60 years ago of the land to build the road.
It was not the first time that the Ejidatarios protested. In 2018, according to Aquino, the extinct Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) already paid more than 172 million pesos (about nine million dollars) to 400 inhabitants of the town for the use of their communal lands for the road, although other residents felt discriminated against and denounced that this money had never reached them.
“Many ejidos were affected along the highway and the one that was covered at that time was Santa Rita Tlahuapan, but now there is another ejido that also belongs to Santa Rita Tlahuapan that is requesting a similar payment, it is a different procedure, but we made a payment at the time,” said the secretary from Puebla. The accumulated grievances led to this latest demonstration.
The National Chamber of Cargo Transportation (Canacar) estimated the economic losses at 131 billion pesos until Friday. Shortages of fruits and vegetables, paralyzed production chains of auto parts, and cancellations of hotels and restaurants were some of the consequences of the blockade. For five days, the authorities only managed to partially reopen one lane, insufficient for the enormous traffic of goods and people in that area of the country.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ended up entering the negotiation, asking the farmers for “trust” on Friday from the National Palace: “What was agreed with them will be guaranteed. Nothing more than that it has to be fair. What does this mean? They will be recognized for the damage they caused decades ago when they built the road because regardless of whether it was other governments, we are responsible. But to repair that damage we have regulations and there is an appraisal office that defines how much must be paid.”
After the intervention of the president and arduous hours of negotiation, in the early hours of this Saturday, the unblocking was agreed upon. “We reaffirm our commitment to continue the dialogue and the working tables, as we have done until today,” said the Secretary of the Interior of Puebla, who announced that it will be next Monday, August 12, when the Ejidatarios, their commissions, and advisors “will be received at the federal agencies, to provide support and follow-up to their demands.”
Source: EL PAIS
