The visit of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo was greeted by a demonstration by tourist transport operators from Los Cabos, who demanded respect for their federal permits and denounced acts of harassment by the state government.
Approximately 150 vehicles mobilized at the event where the hemodynamics room was inaugurated in La Paz, where union representatives presented a document with their list of demands to the national leader.
The group was led by Adrián García, one of the representatives of the Baja California Sur Tourist Transport Workers Front, who explained in an interview that the reason for the protest was the harassment and restrictions imposed by state authorities, particularly by the State Transportation Directorate, headed by Martín Salinas.
There is a shortage of health facilitators in Baja California Sur.
There is a shortage of 32 facilitators to cover all the zones into which the state was divided; For now, mobile brigades are providing assistance.
“They have attacked and harassed our colleagues in the workplace, trying to keep them from entering hotels, despite our federal permits allowing us to do so,” he charged.
Among the main complaints are operations that prevent access to hotels, intimidating patrols with long weapons, and the imposition of a state platform for operating the service, which—they claim—violates the law and seeks to benefit the traditional taxi industry.
“They want to force us into a platform that limits our rights. The federal permit we have allows us to provide transportation to dinners, golf courses, tours, and more, not just to hotels,” García stated.
The Baja California Sur Tourism Transporters Front delivered a document to President Sheinbaum in which they directly accuse the state government of overregulating their activity.
The document mentions five serious impacts: the impediment to free work, the blocking of access to tourist areas, targeted operations, the imposition of state regulations outside their jurisdiction, and arbitrary sanctions that impact their economy.
“These actions not only violate our right to work, but also affect the tourist image of San José del Cabo and the experience of thousands of national and international tourists who daily require our specialized services,” the document reads.
After the meeting with the president, the transport workers reported that Claudia Sheinbaum promised to include them in upcoming meetings with the Federal Undersecretary of Transportation, Tania Caro, to address the issue.
The establishment of a dialogue table between federal, state, and municipal authorities was also assured, a commitment reiterated by Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío through his social media.
“We began a work agenda with President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, assisting transporters in Los Cabos, who raised various issues. We committed to quickly establishing a dialogue table with federal, state, and municipal authorities to seek joint solutions,” the state leader wrote.
García indicated that the conflict with the current Director of Transportation has been going on for more than two years and reiterated his demand for his dismissal. “He has a conflict of interest: he is a public official and also a taxi driver. He cannot be in a position where he directly benefits,” he stated.
How many units are affected?
According to data from the Tourism Front itself, it is estimated that around 2,000 units are affected, which represents an impact on more than 7,000 families who directly depend on this activity.
Finally, García acknowledged that the current municipal government of Los Cabos has shown willingness and respect toward the transporters, in contrast to the actions of the state government. “The problem isn’t with the municipality. It’s with the state and the state police, who have persecuted us,” he stated.
The union will request that future meetings be held publicly so that citizens can learn about the proposals and agreements.
“We want the law to be respected and for tourists to choose how they want to get around, without having a means of transportation imposed on them by particular interests,” he concluded.
Source: oem
