Transporters block roads in Honduras due to increase in fuel prices

Thousands of carriers blocked this Thursday for about eight hours dozens of roads in Honduras in demand for state subsidies for the increase in fuel prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In Tegucigalpa, the carriers They crossed buses and taxis at the exits of the city, in addition to other busy routes, causing severe traffic jams. Many citizens were forced to leave their cars and walk.

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Jorge Lanza, spokesman for the National Transport Council (CNT), which brings together businessmen in the field, told local media that the carriers is it so “demanding a subsidy to compensate for the high prices of fuels.

The blockades spread to other departments of the country, according to leaders and local media.

Members of the police monitor representatives of urban, interurban, taxi and mototaxi transport who block the main highways nationwide asking to speak with the Government about the increase in fuel prices and the possibility of subsidies to transporters, today in Tegucigalpa ( Honduras). (EFE / Gustavo Amador /)

Although the leaders had announced that the strike was for an indefinite period of time, the pathways They began to be released after a public call by the country’s president, the leftist Xiomara Castro, who took office in January.

“Protesting is a right, stopping circulation is an illegal act punishable by law and represents a boycott of my government. There is no dialogue until they suspend the strike”, Castro warned, recalling that they have already reduced between 40 and 53 cents on the dollar fuels as a palliative measure against rising prices.

Taxi drivers wave traffic signs as they block a street during a strike against the high cost of fuel and public transport fares in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. (REUTERS/Fredy Rodriguez/)

Honduras records record prices in the fuels: the gallon (3.9 liters) of premium gasoline is worth 4.94 dollars, that of regular, 4.61, and that of diesel, 4.49.

“Thanking and taking the word of the excellent President of the Republic, Iris Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, to initiate an effective dialogue to resolve the problem (…) the leadership has made the decision to suspend the protests for today “, they pointed out the carriers it’s a statement.

Since the previous government of Juan Orlando Hernández (2014-2022), the carriers They have pressed with sporadic blockades to obtain subsidies, but their protests were dislodged with the use of tear gas.

Castro, on the other hand, has so far refused to use force against the demonstrators.

Source: Elcomercio