Farmers and transporters announced on Tuesday a national strike for next Monday, November 24, due to the lack of agreements with the government regarding their demands to establish a fixed price for corn and curb insecurity on the roads. Eraclio Rodríguez Gómez, leader of the National Front for the Rescue of the Countryside, stated in a press conference that they do not accept the “supposed agreements” that the Government has announced with producers to “subsidize” the price of corn, which -accused the producer- only benefits entrepreneurs and does not contribute to the improvement of the countryside. In front of the National Palace in the Mexican capital, Rodríguez Gómez announced an alliance between farmers and transporters to continue the mobilizations they have carried out in recent days, but now jointly. “There is a close relationship between field producers and transporters. If it weren't for them, it would not be possible for us to get food to the tables (...) And they are also being aggrieved, robbed on the roads, they are charged 'floor rights' (extortion)”, warned the producer. Baltazar Valdez, also a leader of the National Front for the Rescue of the Countryside, detailed that the first action of the alliance will be to carry out a national strike on November 24. That is, to stop the transport of cargo from its origin. Valdez explained that this time they will only block the transit of goods. “We are not going to obstruct the passage of private vehicles and passenger transport”, he assured. Added to this, he announced that they will carry out “the taking of the customs, as a form of maximum pressure to be attended to” by the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, since he considered that in the meetings with the head of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development, Julio Berdegué, they have only received “unfulfilled promises”. Meanwhile, David Estévez, president of the National Association of Transporters (ANTAC), called on all transporters in the country to join the national strike and not provide service on November 24. “I am calling for the mobilizations that we are going to do jointly with the peasant colleagues (...) the alliance is for all of us who suffer on the road”, indicated Estévez. Likewise, he rated as “false” the decrease in violence that the Government presumes, and denounced that sector workers continue to work with fear and uncertainty of going out on the road and not returning to their homes, as has happened with some colleagues. Subsequently, the members of the National Front for the Rescue of the Countryside issued a statement in which they exposed their specific demands to the Sheinbaum government. Specifically, they demand the State's recognition of national agriculture and the establishment of a development bank for the agricultural, livestock and fishing sector. They also demand that grains be left out of the next review of the trade treaty with the United States and Canada (T-MEC), scheduled for 2026. In addition, they demand the publication of guaranteed prices for all food production, as well as being taken into account in the new National Water Law, proposed by Sheinbaum. In recent days, farmers have held mobilizations in 25 of the 32 entities of the country, with the main demand to establish a minimum price of 6,000 pesos per ton of corn.
