Chile: Gabriel Boric’s government faces shortages due to a truckers’ strike

The truckers’ strike continues this Sunday for the seventh consecutive day in Chile after negotiations on Saturday it will end without an agreement between the union and the government by Gabriel Boric.

We have not reached a good agreement with the government, said the president of the Confederation of Truckers of Fuerza del Norte, Cristian Sandoval, at the end of the seven-hour meeting with the executive.

On Friday the truck drivers decided to keep the stop after the refusal of the Government of withdraw the 31 lawsuits filed against many of its leaders in different regions of the country by the law on state security. However, in recent conversations this issue has been left in the background.

“The issue of complaints can be resolved over time, so today we were flexible, we turned to the government without filing a complaint”, added Sandoval, who reiterated that the reduction in the price of fuel is the key point to resolve.

Safety

The mobilization, which began on Monday and, in addition to the increase in fuel, it was also motivated by the insecurity on the routesit has caused fuel and food shortages in some cities, according to various local media.

The leader of Biobío truckers, Freddy Martínez, said that the group is proposing “a limited percentage reduction for four months” while “a mechanism is being prepared that includes a more efficient bill in terms of fuel stabilization, so no non i must be in this problem again.

Given the extension of the shutdown and the shortage alarms of supermarkets and agricultural producers, the Government activated a plan with 140 trucks carrying products and police escorted “basic supplies”.

The Chilean Association of Fruit Exporters (Asoex) warned on Saturday that if the strike continues, the industry would have no choice but to stop picking the fruit.

Saturday, 48 points on different roads were blocked from vehicles. So far, 16 people have been detained in the context of the mobilisations.

Can

The truckers, a group that has enormous power of influence in Chile Since rail transport was abandoned during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), this year they have organized the second protest due to lack of safety on the lines. The first was in April, a month after Boric came to power.

Transport mobilizations in Chile have a large and direct impact on its economy, as there is no alternative to land transit, weighed down by the lack of interest in developing a vast rail network during the dictatorship.

The government has sued the lorry drivers under the State Security Act which, among other crimes, penalizes those who violate public order and whose sentences if convicted can range from 61 to 540 days in jail.

Days ago, President Gabriel Boric had warned the union in protest that he would resort to “the full force of the law” to deal with the pulse of truck drivers. Of the 40,000 drivers in the sector, 30,000 are small and medium-sized.

The transport paralysis threatens the country’s activity, which due to its narrow geography mobilizes 95% of the national load by road. Food, building materials, machinery and fuel circulate along the Chilean highways and the 3,300 kilometers of Route 5 or Pan-Americana are the strategic axis that unites the country from north to south.

Source EFE and AP

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