Farmers’ blockade of Mexico’s main east-west highway enters second day, affecting thousands

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Business groups in Mexico warned Thursday of economic damage to companies and thousands of ordinary citizens as a protest blockade of Mexico’s main east-west highway continues for a second full day.

Farmers blocked the highway between Mexico City and Puebla on Tuesday, leaving some truckers and drivers without food or water for nearly two days on Thursday, unable to move.

The farmers are demanding payment for land expropriated decades ago to build the highway. The federal government has refused to send the protesters back, saying it would violate their rights. The government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has often a non-confrontational approach to protests and even drug cartels.

“We cannot oppress people,” López Obrador said Thursday. “It is better to convince people, to convince them.”

But stranded truck drivers and motorists say their rights are being violated and their patience is running out.

“The frequent occurrence of these blockades affects thousands of people and also has a long-term effect on investor confidence and the competitiveness of our country,” the Mexican Employers’ Federation said in a statement.

Rubén Furlong, leader of the federation in Puebla, just east of Mexico City, wrote on social media that the government’s response had been inadequate.

“Actions like the blockade of the highway … put them (companies) on the ropes, while the government simply says they will not repress,” Furlong wrote.

Video footage of the event showed miles of trucks and cars stuck behind the protest blockade.

Although there are other, less used highways, most Mexicans use the Mexico-Puebla highway to reach the Gulf Coast, the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and other places in southeastern Mexico.

The authorities acknowledge that the farmers’ land has been taken and have agreed to pay, but the two sides cannot agree on the amount.

While López Obrador has refused to do so protests blocking key transport links break upHe has deployed soldiers and the National Guard to disperse protesters blocking his favored rail projects. ___

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