At least nine separate protest groups set up road blocks, marched down main thoroughfares and yelled outside government offices yesterday in an unusually jam-packed day of civil discontent.
Demanding government action on a variety of issues, from privatization of electricity to farming subsidies, the protesters provoked traffic hold-ups on the main Reforma Avenue, the historic center "Zocalo," Alameda Park and around Congress, local press reported.
While civil protests and marches are not uncommon in the capital, yesterday's show of opposition was impressively large, a likely result of concentrated end-of-year activities and debates: finalization of next year's budget, new transport laws and the approaching elimination of agricultural tariffs under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Prominent among the detractors were campesino groups who followed up their cow-herding antics at a protest last week by gate-crashing Congress with six horses and five rickety tractors. Key to their demands was a halt to plans allowing tariff-free entry of foreign food-stuffs into Mexico under NAFTA, which the farmers claim will bring them to ruin.
Other protests included electricity workers urging the government not to privatize the nation's energy sector; transport workers asking for changes to the federal transport law; pensioners demanding an increase in state benefits and members of a teacher's union supporting farmer's pleas and asking for salary increases.
--Claudia Boyd-Barrett
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.