Bogota, Sep 4 (EFE).- Truck drivers, bus drivers, heavy vehicle drivers, taxi drivers and motorcyclists took to the streets of major Colombian cities again on Wednesday for the third consecutive day of blockades in protest against the increase in fuel prices, mainly diesel, which began to take effect last Saturday.
“We will be here until the Ministry (of Transport) finds a solution,” Wilson Perdomo, leader of the demonstration at the Southern Terminal of the Colombian capital, told EFE. He argued that they are not participating in a blockade, but rather it is a “peaceful protest.”
Although private vehicles, ambulances and emergency services can pass through some points in the Colombian capital, there are others that are completely blocked, especially at the entrances and exits of the city.
Perdomo explained that on Tuesday there was a meeting at the Ministry of Transport that lasted until late at night but that “there was no agreement” and added: “If they are going to raise the price, let it be moderate.”
The mayor of Bogotá, Carlos Fernando Galán, indicated that the city woke up with blockades in 13 points of the city, which in turn affected more than 241 public transport routes and nearly 60,000 users.
However, the impacts vary in severity depending on the location, and traffic remains fluid in most of the city.
Beyond Bogotá, the strike also extends to the departments of Norte de Santander and Santander, the Caribbean Coast, Magdalena Medio, Bogotá and the center of the country.
Response from the authorities
On Wednesday, Galán reproached the Colombian government for “evading its responsibility and passing the buck to local authorities.”
“Bogotá is blocked (…) It is urgent that the government makes a clear decision: either it leads the dialogue to a concrete solution to lift the blockades throughout the country or it gives the national instruction to intervene with public force to restore mobility,” he added.
For his part, Colombian President Gustavo Petro also referred to the strike, writing on his X account: “Let’s take advantage of the time of the strike to hold large union meetings.”
“The government will fully support the legalisation of transport workers’ unions,” he said, referring to a message he cited in which it was suggested that the truckers’ strike was “part of a plot to carry out a coup d’état.”
On Tuesday, Petro said that “the country will not allow itself to be blocked” and pointed out that “the rise in diesel prices is fair because it is only recovering the money from a subsidy that should never have been given and that already accounts for a large fraction of Colombia’s public debt.”
The transporters are protesting against the increase announced at the end of December by the Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla, of the price of diesel by 6,000 pesos (about 1.44 dollars today) between this year and next, which will be done in three half-yearly increases of 2,000 pesos (0.48 dollars) each.
With the increase, the price of a gallon of diesel was, on average, 11,360 pesos (about 2.73 dollars today) and, according to the Government, if inflation were considered since January 1, 2020, when the cost of this fuel was frozen, until today it should have a value of around 13,200 pesos (about 3.18 dollars today).
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2024-09-06 16:46:21
Colombian Cities Paralyzed as Truckers, Drivers Protest Fuel Price Hike
In a third consecutive day of protests, Colombian cities were brought to a standstill as truck drivers, bus drivers, heavy vehicle drivers, taxi drivers, and motorcyclists took to the streets to demonstrate against the recent increase in fuel prices, particularly diesel. The price hike, which began to take effect last Saturday, has sparked widespread discontent among transporters, who argue
