Striking truckers park their rigs at the roadside on Tuesday.A national strike by the truckers’ organization Amotac has come to an end after talks with the government.
The Mexican Alliance of Transportation Organizations declared the strike on Tuesday, threatening to block highways in 32 states.
Interior Secretariat undersecretary Ricardo Peralta, who led the talks with Amotac president Rafael Ortiz, said a permanent table for dialogue was created to allow for the government to work with the truckers.
“All strike actions that could cause roadblocks have been deactivated by the strikers themselves,” Peralta said.
He added that representatives of the truckers and the secretariats of the Interior and Communications and Transportation would begin the first talks on Wednesday.
In order to create a national agenda to attend to the demands that the truckers have had for over 10 years and deal with issues that concern all transportation operators, the country’s six other federal transportation organizations will also be involved in the talks.
Among the truckers’ demands are the prohibition of double-trailer rigs, lower tolls and gasoline prices, more security on the country’s highways and lower tow truck rates.
Tuesday’s protests took place in some 22 states. Some highways were blocked but in many cases the striking drivers parked their trucks and buses at the side of the road.
