Without agreements with the Ministry of the Interior (Segob) and with the warning that this is “the last fight to defend the countryside,” producers’ organizations confirmed that they will continue their sit-ins and blockades on highways and international bridges in Tamaulipas, which have already seen three days of partial and total closures at strategic points.
The National Producers’ Front reported that the meeting with federal authorities failed after dialogue was conditioned on the withdrawal of all protests from the country, a condition the organizations rejected.
“The dialogue with the government failed because it conditioned it on the withdrawal of all demonstrations from the country,” they stated, asserting that there were no clear commitments or agreements and that no proposal was presented to cover the outstanding payments from the 2023 agricultural cycle.
In a statement distributed to their members, the producers summarized the outcome of the meeting in Mexico City:
“The meeting just concluded… There was no favorable response from the government. There was no commitment. There were no solutions… What we face today is no longer a simple disagreement: it is, historically and painfully clearly, a real threat to the disappearance of Mexico’s primary sector as we know it.”
The statement also warns that the mobilizations represent a breaking point, because “this is—without drama or embellishment—the last fight for the defense of the countryside. The last frontier before the lands that feed the nation are forgotten… Unity is our only shield and also our only tool. Let us stand firm. For our families, for our land, and for the future of Mexican agriculture.”
While road closures began to be lifted in several sections of the country, in Tamaulipas farmers spent the night at locations such as the access to the Pharr International Bridge and the Reynosa-Matamoros highway tollbooth near Nuevo Progreso.
The reactivation and continuation of blockades is expected this Wednesday at at least five highway locations in the state:
Federal Highway 101 Victoria-Matamoros, km 201, in the area known as “La Y” in San Fernando.
Matamoros-Reynosa Highway, entrance to Nuevo Progreso, km 49+100, where protesters are maintaining a sit-in at the tollbooth.
Federal Highway 80 Tampico-Mante, at the “La Esperanza” Bridge, km 31+140, Altamira section.
Pharr International Bridge in Reynosa, one of the main crossings for agricultural exports to Texas. Federal Highway 80 Valles–Victoria, Antiguo Morelos–Mante section, km 80+500.
In previous days, blockades had already affected these same points, as well as access routes between Reynosa and Monterrey, the riverfront area, and sections of the Victoria–Matamoros highway, with closures lasting for hours and forcing the opening of alternate routes.
As the blockades continue, business organizations on the Tamaulipas border warned that the paralysis of routes is affecting commercial activity and the transport of goods.
The president of the National Chamber of Commerce (Canaco) of Reynosa, Gildardo López Hinojosa, acknowledged that the demands of the agricultural and transportation sectors are legitimate, but warned about the losses resulting from keeping the highways closed.
He noted that more than 24,000 cargo thefts are recorded annually nationwide, resulting in losses exceeding 7 billion pesos for the productive sector, and called for a solution that protects those who produce and transport goods without bringing the rest of the country to a standstill.
“Mexico cannot come to a halt. We demand real solutions that protect those who produce, transport, and work, without affecting millions of people who have nothing to do with this crisis,” he stated.
Source: elefanteblanco
