By Silvio Canto, Jr. www.americanthinker.com
Back in the 1980s, I had a chance to work and live in Mexico City. One of our favorite weekend activities was to drive in the rural areas and visit those old churches. It's amazing how nice they were. Another thing is that I was pretty impressed with Mexico's highways. It was very practical to get around as long as you remember that the 90 speed limit was kilometers not miles!
It's not easy to get around Mexico these days and it's not a problem with the roads. It's the truckers, who are tired of insecurity and extortion and want better prices for their goods.
So far, the so-called national strike is having some economic impact. One of the biggest concerns is the impact on ports, as we see in this story:
According to foreign media reports, Mexico will experience a nationwide strike on November 24 local time. Organized by the National Transport Association of Mexico (ANTAC) and the Mexican Farmer Agriculture Movement (MAC), transport workers and farmers will participate in the protests.
It is understood that specific measures for this strike include: setting up roadblocks on multiple major traffic arteries, specifically targeting and blocking cargo transportation, while also announcing plans to take “occupation of customs” actions to pressure the authorities.
As a core hub for Chinese goods entering Mexico, the operational status of the Port of Manzanillo is crucial for China-Mexico cross-border trade.
This port handles approximately 4,000 truck transport demands daily, undertaking 42% of the China-Mexico sea freight volume, and is a “lifeline” for inventory preparation for many cross-border sellers.
However, if this strike action is fully implemented, the Port of Manzanillo will face impacts:
On one hand, the inland freight channels connecting to the port may be severed, preventing efficient distribution of arrived goods and leading to port congestion and paralysis; furthermore, the China-Mexico direct shipping capacity has been unstable this year, leading some Chinese cargo to use the “US-Mexico transit” as an alternative route.
This strike plan may include blocking the US-Mexico border, subjecting sellers’ inventory plans to a double blow of “main channel congestion + backup channel disruption”.
It is worth mentioning that multiple strike incidents have already occurred in Mexico since late October.
I spoke with a friend in Mexico City and everyone is naturally worried. Every morning thousands of trucks deliver vegetables and more to major distribution centers in the city. Then they load up trucks and move it to thousands of markets. My friend is concerned that food will spoil and shortages will occur.
Where is the government? Why aren't they doing something such as sitting down with the protest leaders for some negotiations? One of the contentious issues is that the government is behind in their payments to the truckers. The Sheinbaum administration has promised to start the payments and calls for patience. One of the protest leaders was on TV and I heard him say something like "we got oil for Cuba but no money for Mexican truckers." Makes sense to the truckers blocking the highways.
My friend added a political commentary. He feels that the government is weak. He said that previous presidents would have intervened or done something weeks ago. He can't believe that we've reached this far. My friend is not a fan of President Sheinbaum, but he's got a point.
So eat your turkey up here, enjoy your family, and stay off the Mexican highways if you were planning to drive south.
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