Workers from shoe manufacturing companies in León joined the contingent that left San Francisco del Rincón and registered some 500 people who marched against the illegal importation of Chinese footwear.
Workers from the towns of Rincón and León gathered at the Arco de la Calzada to advance along Francisco I. Madero Street to the pedestrian zone.
Before the mobilization began, the participating workers received a white t-shirt with the legend printed on it: “No to Chinese footwear.” The attendees indicated that they were participating in a fight to keep their jobs and maintain the national shoe industry.
The three most recent mobilizations in the towns of Rincón took place after raids that the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) implemented on July 18 in plants in San Francisco del Rincón derived from complaints from the international brands Nike and Adidas for manufacturing pirated footwear.
There were other workers who, although they admit that they make pirated sneakers, say that they are made in Mexico and that is better than the import of Asian shoes.
During the journey they shouted the slogans: “No to Chinese shoes, no to smuggling”; “The united people will never be defeated”; “The people are not for sale, León and the People of Rincón united.” The demonstration was organized and peaceful.
Asian imports are on the rise
China, Vietnam and Indonesia represent 89.7% of the shoe imports to our country. During the first two months of 2024, footwear imports increased by 21%, a variation of four million 611 thousand 621 pairs, compared to the same period in 2023.
In the first two months of this year, 26 million 976 thousand 948 pairs entered the country, an increase compared to the 22 million 365 thousand 327 pairs, registered in the same period of 2023.
According to statistics from the Chamber of the Footwear Industry of the State of Guanajuato (Ciceg), in 2022 imports totaled 126 million 983 thousand 853 pairs, a historic figure for the sector, an increase of 31% compared to 2021.
They meet with manufacturers from León. English:Photo: Martín Saldaña
Oligopoly alert
The Secretary for Economic Reactivation of the Municipality of León, Guillermo Romo Pacheco, warned that the domestic market has changed a lot; there are two or three companies that dominate the market and put manufacturers in a tight spot.
“That becomes an oligopoly, that is why the work of the Federal Competition Commission (Cofece) is important, which the President of the Republic absurdly wants to eliminate, because it is the one that provides equity so that two companies do not cover more than 30 or 40% -of the market- and manipulate prices and have you as a manufacturer pinned down,” he said.
He said that one of these companies, which sell in installments, is Coppel, a situation that needs to be worked on.
Imports in the first two months:
Year / Even
2022 / 21,901,702
2023 / 22,365,327
2024 / 26,976,948
Source: am
