Truckers’ strike begins in Colombia due to rising tolls

Zero hour has arrived. Transport unions begin in Bogotá, Medellín, Villavicencio, among other cities, the first national strike of the year in Colombia. The reason that brings them together is the increase in tolls and supplies for the rolling of their vehicles.

Freight unions and truckers’ associations across the country will seek a deal with the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) and the Ministry of Mines and Energy for regulation of toll prices.

Agree with Jorge Ignacio Garcia, president of the Colombian Confederation of Transporters, the increase in toll prices ordered by the government did not take into account unemployment and the economic crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic. The leader says the protests will be peaceful and will take place on the country’s main roads.

Read more: Missing woman was not pregnant, Cali health officials say

Although there is no roadmap for the mobilizations, it has been reported by truckers that they will stop their vehicles in Bogota, The municipalities of Cundinamarca such as Girardot, in Boyacá will be in Guateque, Armero and Guayabal in Tolima, and will define in the following hours the meeting points in Bucaramanga and Medellín.

All protests, García said, will be peaceful.

Read more: Severe criticism of Sergio Fajardo against Daniel Quintero for governability in Medellín

From a permanent assembly to taking the slopes: these are the reasons for the first strike in 2021

It was Jorge Ignacio García, who said the truckers union was “tired” that toll increases were decreed unilaterally, without being listened to or consulted.

During the permanent assembly convened on the first weekend of February, the leader stressed that: “The members of the Truck Crusade, of which we are part with the Freight Carrier Association We reject government announcements of exaggerated toll increases for concessionary roads and which in many cases do not respond to the quality of roads and travel times and even less to the situation of the transport sector because the load reduction is 40%“.

The critical points were the tolls of the Painted in Antioquia, Macheta, in Cundinamarca, Lebanon, in Tolima, that of Pipiral in Villavicencio. In addition, the arrival of new tolls will amount to 34 on different roads in the country, which will, he argues, be another economic blow for the sector.

Read more: JEP points to ELN as an obstacle to consolidating the Peace Agreement.

Regarding the peaceful protest, García gave details at the time: “For February 15, the days of protest have already been announced in the various cities of the country with caravans in rejection of this escalating toll rate hikes and that is why we hope to review next week with the government to explain why these situations are occurring.

Besides, Henry cardenas, spokesperson and president of Fedetranscarga, supported the mobilization in caravans called on February 15, but was skeptical of the results it would bring if the increases continued without considering the industry.

He said that “infrastructure is important and generates jobs, but so is tourism. and the high cost of tolls discourages visitors from walking around», Alluding to how the prices of road trips generate negative effects in sectors such as hospitality and tourism.

The previous weekend, the increase in 198 pesos for the price of a gallon of gasoline and 145 pesos for diesel in the 13 main cities of the country.

This increase, authorized by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, leaves the gallon of gasoline at $8.327 pesos, while the average price of Diesel remains at 8,294 pesos.

The demonstration of truckers is the first in 2021, but it is one more in the midst of citizen movements in Bolívar and Santander, departments affected by the increase in tolls at the entrance to Cartagena or the port of Barrancabermeja, respectively.

Molano: Colombia will have 33,000 police officers by 2023