Truck drivers in Mexico blocked highways to protest the government’s failure to pay debts
MEXICO CITY (AP) – Truck drivers blocked highways in central Mexico Tuesday to complain that the government is not paying them for work they did on the tourist train line.
A protest by truckers blocked two major highways heading north out of Mexico City for several hours on Tuesday morning, and other major highways in the Yucatan Peninsula, where they were working carrying rocks and other materials for the government’s Maya Train project.
President Claudia Sheinbaum admitted on Tuesday that companies that hire truck drivers have not paid them because the government owes them money.
“The payments to the companies have started, so they can also pay the truck drivers,” said Sheinbaum.
It was the latest in a series of complaints by workers and businessmen who say the cash-strapped government has fallen behind on payments.
Mexico’s federal government is using a large budget deficit to pay for pet projects and rights programs of previous administrations.
Last month suppliers and contractors of the state-owned oil company published an open letter saying they have not been paid $5 billion for the work they did.
“This situation … has had a negative impact on our finances and the regions in which we operate,” the Mexican Association of Petroleum Services Companies wrote in a letter.
Under former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who was Sheinbaum’s political adviser, the government began transferring more money to the state-owned oil company Pemex, embarked on major construction projects and implemented cash flow programs.
That led to a federal budget deficit of about 6% of Mexico’s gross domestic product by 2024. Mexico’s treasury department said it would aim to reduce the deficit to 3.9% of GDP by 2025, but it was unclear whether it could achieve that. López Obrador left behind a number of unfinished rail and oil refining projects, and Sheinbaum expanded benefit programs for the elderly.
In November, rating agency Moody’s said it downgraded the government’s debt outlook from “stable” to “severe” while reaffirming Mexico’s overall Baa2 debt rating, saying the rise in government debt represented Mexico’s risk.
The bailout left Sheinbaum scrambling to raise money through new and unusual taxes and funding sources.
Earlier this week, Sheinbaum said most of the money raised by eliminating private oversight and regulatory agencies would go to the military to fund military pay raises.
In November, Mexico’s Congress approved a $42 immigration fee for all cruise passengers, with most of that money going to the armed forces.
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