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At least a dozen roads in Colombia On Monday, intermittent blockages were recorded due to the protests of the transport union against the increase in diesel prices decreed by the government.
According to what was announced weeks ago by the administration of the leftist Gustavo Petro, The price of fuel used by most cargo vehicles increased by the equivalent of 46 cents per gallon (3.8 liters) on the weekend.
In response, carriers parked their trucks on major shipping routes.
access to Bogota and also those that connect the center of the country with Venezuela, the south and the coast of Caribbean, according to traffic authorities.
The Bogotá mayor’s office reported “affectations” and “intermittent” cuts on eight roads, including the main access routes to the capital, of about 8 million inhabitants.
Crowds were forced to get off public transport buses and walk to their destination because of blockades at the western entrance to Bogotá, according to videos broadcast by local media.
Also, in the departments of Santander (north) and North Santander (northeast), which connect the capital with Venezuela and the Caribbean region, there are another eight roadblocks, most of them intermittent, according to local governments.
A Venezuelan woman traveling to the border city of Cúcuta on a bus suffered health problems at one of the blockades and died yesterday, said the secretary of state. Interior of Santander, Oscar Hernandez.
In addition, the road between Bogota y Villavicenciowhich connects the capital with the oil and agricultural regions in the southeast of the country, is also “temporarily closed” due to the protests, according to the National Institute of Roads. Transporters and the government have held several meetings in recent weeks without reaching an agreement on the increase in the price of fuel.
The increase in diesel prices “will impact the cost of living and the family basket of 60 million Colombians,” claimed the Colombian Truck Drivers Association(ACC) on social network X.
Despite the increase, the value of this hydrocarbon in Colombia is the third cheapest in the region thanks to a state subsidy. Only in Ecuador y Bolivia This fuel is cheaper, according to the government.
The executive seeks a gradual increase in 1.5 dollars as a measure to close the gap in public finances caused by the diesel subsidy, which is estimated at around 288 million dollars by the end of the year.
“The subsidy that we are giving to diesel could perfectly be used… to give a subsidy to all vulnerable families in Colombia”, he argued, “we could also be building several roads that are currently experiencing problems.”
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2024-09-07 16:04:38