Murder of cyclists at CDMX casts a shadow over World Bike Day

The United Nations (UN) designated June 3 as World Cycling Day, think about sustainable mobility that benefits health. For many people who move around Mexico City on a daily basis, biking is more than a greener alternative to transportation. “It’s living your life more slowly, at a more organic pace, driven by a moving body. It is the concern of life “are the words of Erandi Villavicencio, friend of Carolina “Cariño” Espinosa Caballero, a cyclist killed last year by a drunk motorist.

For others, cycling goes beyond fun and becomes a way of life. This is the case for the hundreds of delivery women and couriers who move on two wheels, crossing the capital and the areas that border it and which belong to the State of Mexico. This is the case of Ras Tayén, a two-haul who can carry up to 70 kg in his backpack when he rolls through the streets of the city, traveling between 70 and 90 kilometers per day. Ras Tayén is a friend of Mario Trejo, another bi-messenger who lost his leg after being run over in November of last year by a public transport truck.

In the end, moving around the city is also moving between life and death. On the occasion of the world bicycle day, activists and a group in favor of the rights to a dignified mobility in the city, take the opportunity to demand the increase in cyclist deaths in the administration of the head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum and her secretary for Mobility, Andrés Lajous Loeza.

In its first quarterly report on traffic events at CDMX, the Ministry of Mobility (Semovi) indicated a figure of eight cyclists died between January and March 2021. With this number, doubles the number of cyclists who died in traffic events during the same period in 2020 and the total number of cyclists killed in the past year is exceeded, which only reaches 6.

Octavio García Larragaña He was killed by a motorist on May 2, 2021 while training on the Mexico-Toluca highway. The manager tried to escape, but was arrested by Octavio’s companions, who were training with him.

Three days later, on May 5, Edauardo Ivan Chavez Hernandez he was run over on the Xochimilco-Tulyehualco highway. The manager managed to escape.

A person who has not been identified too He died on his bicycle as he rode on the outskirts of the Iztapalapa mayor’s office. of Mexico City. There is no information on the person responsible for his death.

Another unidentified cyclist was killed by a motorist in Mayor Gustavo A. Madero. According to local media, the driver of the truck that killed the 35-year-old man tried to escape, but was later arrested and presented to authorities. This happened on March 30.

“Crushed by a Tralier” is one of the titles describing the death of German Cruz Garcia 55 years old, died on March 2 while crossing the Calzada de la Viga in Iztapalapa. He He was riding in the lane that corresponds to cyclists when a taxi driver opened the door of his car, throwing Germán towards the trailer that ended his life.

Another 30-year-old man was run over on Eje 5 Sur in Iztapalapa. The vehicle managed to escape the scene without being identified. This happened on February 21.

Ricardo Allvarez Navarro of 40 was crushed on February 14 by a unit of public transport which ran on Izazaga Avenue in the center of the city. The driver of the truck fled.

The bicycle messenger Víctor Miguel He was run over on February 5 while working on Avenida Balderas in the town hall of Cuauhtémoc. It is also a unit of public transport which ended its days.

In the first week of the year, on the 6th, Edgar Núñez died in Calzada Vallejo de Azcapotzalco. The motorist responsible for his death fled.

In the review of journalistic notes and information published by cycling activists made by the group Not a dead man on the road, There are 9 cyclists killed in the city. One more of those recorded by Semovi. Twitter activist PeatónDelSur has another citizen account that amounts to 20 cyclists killed so far this year, reported in the twitter hashtag #MuerteVialCDMX.

Most of the deaths recorded by Not a Single Death on the Road in CDMX, They have occurred in municipalities that have a smaller amount of cycling infrastructure, which is mainly concentrated in municipalities where people with higher economic income live, such as Cuauhtémoc and Benito Juárez..

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