Accidents, kidnappings, rape, murders: delivery men fight for their safety in Mexico

Dozens of fatal accidents, kidnappings and even murders: food delivery men from Mexico City They come together to claim, like their colleagues in other countries, their labor rights before the service platforms, adapting their fight to the dangers of the Mexican mega-city.

While in Europe they are preparing to discuss a proposal that recognizes the rights of platform workers such as Uber, Didi, Deliveroo, six initiatives introduced in the Mexican Congress have not finished moving forward.

On Mexico City, with crutches and a prosthetic left leg, Victor, 33, continues to bring food to home after suffering an accident on December 13, 2020 that resulted in a knee-level amputation.

“I was riding a motorcycle. That is where what I remember ends. I woke up on Friday. I did not remember anything. It was an ambulance going the other way“This young man tells AFP in the middle of calls from a restaurant to take an order.

“After my accident I did not receive support from anyone, not from the government, nor from the ambulance that hit me, nor from their insurance. The expenses were paid by my family and I “, Victor regrets.

Even though the accident did not occur when delivering a service, Victor has become a media figure of the movement “Not a dealer less”, which demands that these messengers be recognized as workers with all their rights, especially in terms of safety.

“We are talking about 56 comrades killed in March 2020 so far this year, 52 have died in traffic events and four were killed or stabbed”, says Saúl Gómez, one of the founders of the group.

Within hours, “Not a dealer less” added victim 57, documented with images. As with these types of claims, it is difficult to confirm the figures from an independent source.

The capital of Mexico is a dangerous city to ride on two wheels despite the fact that exclusive lanes for bicycles have been laid out in different areas.

Proof of this is that last Sunday a drunk driver ran over a score of cyclists who were going on pilgrimage to the Basilica of Guadalupe.

The group denounced the run over with the support of impressive images of the moment, widely disseminated by local media.

A dozen cyclists had to be hospitalized and the driver and his passenger were arrested.

“First we ask for road safety,” says Saúl.

Kidnapped

“Not a dealer less”, Recently created, it has carried out different mobilizations, such as a sit-in in front of the National Palace, seat of the federal government, and a memorial in honor of Miguel Albarran, a 30-year-old deliveryman who lost his life in a traffic accident near the Frida-Kahlo museum in the south.

The driver who hit him was drunk, Gomez denounces before a white backpack tied to a tree. “This cannot go unpunished,” he claims.

Other dangers threaten the distributors of this chaotic city in which between nine and ten million inhabitants live and double if metropolitan municipalities are added.

A 34-year-old girl who presents herself as an unemployed actress claims that in 2020, when the pandemic began, she was kidnapped during a delivery in the exclusive Polanco sector.

“He is a person who has a lot of money and influence”, says the young woman. “He offered me a job. It was the hook for me to enter his apartment. I told him no”, he points out, assuring that he threatened her with death.

“The platform did absolutely nothing. I did not report it because the authorities in Mexico do nothing ”, The young woman adds, regretting that in the applications of the services there is no channel for deliverymen to complain about abusive customers.

“I did not report it because the authorities in Mexico do nothing”he says sighing. “He is a person who has a lot of money and influence.”

In the absence of a complaint, it is impossible to confirm the version with the authorities.

In March 2020, when the pandemic began and the orders on the platforms multiplied, the security firm Grupo Alfa warned in a statement that the delivery men were kidnapped by criminals who forced them to reveal customer data, which became potential target of criminals.

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