Claudio Andrade
04/25/2021 12:44
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 04/25/2021 12:44 PM
More than 400 Argentine and Chilean trucks are stranded in Punta Delgada- Bahia Azul, in Tierra del Fuego, due to
a strike carried out by a group of truckers independently
, in response to the blockades they have suffered in Villa La Angostura and Zapala during the 19 days of claim carried out by the Self-convened Health Workers in this province.
The conflict meets this Sunday 19 days.
There are more than 20 pickets throughout the province.
It is estimated that around 150 trans-Andean trucks are still stranded in Zapala and Villa La Angostura.
On Saturday, Chilean authorities reported that they will enable the circulation of trucks
in the Cristo Redentor pass
in the central zone and other sectors located further south, although no details were offered.
Between Punta Delgada- Bahía Azu
l there are about 15 kilometers to the barge that connects the mainland with the island
and another 150 to the border.
In the last 7 days, some 2,000 Chilean trucks were stranded between La Angostura and Zapala, which little by little were able to cross the blockades at border points maintained by health agents.
For some, the wait lasted up to five days, generating high stress situations among drivers due to lack of food, food and toilets.
Trucks, no
The strike in Tierra del Fuego began on Saturday and quickly
more and more trucks have been added in huge double lines
that are prevented from traveling from Chile to Argentina and vice versa.
Most are large Argentine vehicles.
Chilean picketers
allow individuals and ambulances from both countries to pass,
but not trucks.
There are dozens of Argentine transports prevented from continuing their route to the towns of Río Grande, Tolhuin and Ushuaia.
But there are also many other national transports that carry loads to Punta Arenas, their final destination.
The Chilean transporters explain that it is a replica due to the harsh conditions to which they were subjected in the pickets in Neuquén.
Many of them had to wait up to 5 days to reach the Cardenal Samoré pass 25 kilometers from La Angostura.
The transporters detail that they have had to go to the forest to use them as bathrooms, that they suffered hunger and thirst since it is not allowed to move from the routes due to the health protocol of the Covid 19 pandemic. Some arrived in a state of shock to Punta Arenas, according to was able to find out this diary.
"This can be considered a replica of what is happening in La Angostura where we have been unemployed for days and days and no one gives us an answer,"
Chilean driver Jaime Cárdenas
explains to
Clarín
.
"It is a stoppage of truckers but not of the union. We as drivers are stopping because we need to be listened to and taken care of in this," he adds.
The attitude of Chilean truckers is unusual.
As a rule, union workers follow the directives of their union leaders strictly.
But the trans-Andean mobility reigning since October 2019 with the huge social mobilizations and the economic crisis imposed by the pandemic have heated up spirits.
The famous Chilean patience is reaching its limit, explain the referents of the blockade.
"This is the same situation that we live in Cardenal Samoré, but now on the Chilean side. We spent days there with perishable products such as salmon, high-value products, with cattle," says driver Hugo Retamal.
"We understand the claim of the Argentine workers, but we demand that the Chilean authorities and I clarify Chileans, to help us in this matter and we have not had solutions from the officials or unions," he stresses.
The union leadership of truckers in Chile is concerned about how this "double" border blockade could affect binational relations.
"
It is not conducive and we do not agree to respond in this way
. From the union we are talking with the government, embassy and foreign ministry to help Chilean truckers", indicates Carlos Estrada, president of the Association of Transporters of Punta Arenas, Carlos Estrada.
"The Magallanes region depends more than any other Chilean region on the link with Argentina. We consume a lot of Argentine food that comes to the Free Trade Zone. To do this is to harm ourselves," he stresses.
Look also
The conflict in Neuquén worsens: 20 road blocks and shortages
Desolate routes, shortages and rushed negotiations in a conflict that paralyzes the South for 18 days
