On the morning of Tuesday, October 14, thousands of farmers mobilized in several states to protest the lack of solutions from President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration to the crisis facing the Mexican countryside.
With this protest, the producers are seeking to be received by Sheinbaum in a forum for dialogue that will allow them to expose the reality of the countryside and make requests to strengthen the agricultural sector.
From tractors to heavy machinery, Mexican farmers took to the roads to block toll booths, while in Mexico City, protests are expected near the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as at the Ministry of Economy.
The National Highway Guard reported that the toll booth on the Zacatecas-Aguascalientes highway was closed in both directions due to the presence of protesters, as was the toll plaza on the Zacatecas-Durango highway; local media also reported the blockade on the Zacatecas-Saltillo highway.
Likewise, agricultural producers demonstrated in Celaya, León, Irapuato, San Miguel de Allende, and Guanajuato, according to local reports.
It was also reported that agricultural producers in Jalisco will close the Guadalajara-Manzanillo highway, as well as the Ocotlán toll booth, near the border with Michoacán.
In addition, in the neighboring state of Jalisco, authorities reported blockades by farmers on Avenida Madero and Calzada la Huerta in Morelia; on the Zamora-Jacona South Bypass; the Jiquilpan-Sahuayo Highway; Francisco J. Mujica Boulevard in Ario de Rosales; the Sahuayo-La Barca Ref. Highway; the Penjamillo Highway; and on the Mexico-Guadalajara West Highway.
What are they demanding?
The agricultural groups proposed three urgent measures to rescue national production, which consist of: establishing a guaranteed price of 7,200 pesos per ton for all commercial agriculture; prohibit the importation of white corn of any kind; and implement an economic support scheme when prices paid by the industry fall below the guaranteed level.
In an interview with Latinus, the leaders expressed their distrust of the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Julio Berdegué, with whom they say they have lost all credibility.
Source: latinus.us
