Independent truckers distance themselves from the agreement with the government and remain mobilized

The agreement reached this Thursday between the government and the Fuerza Norte Transporters Confederation and the Centro-Sur Truckers Confederation of Chile, the main organizations that led the protests and participated in the negotiations, did not manage to put an end to all the protests that continue on various routes across the country. Transporters from Santiago, Valparaíso and Temuco rejected the measures announced by the Executive and warned that they would continue their mobilization, while in Talca the protesters finally cleared the road. The differences were evident among the transporters themselves, with groups questioning both the scope of the announced measures and the representation of those who signed the understanding with the Executive. One of the first leaders to react was Andrés Alarcón, of the No+TAG movement, who criticized the fact that the measures announced by the government did not include reductions for all fuel users. "How do I explain now to the bus drivers, the taxi drivers, the motorcyclists, who have supported us and who use gasoline, that there will be no reductions for them? How do I explain to them that the reductions are for diesel and not for gasoline?" he posed. Along those lines, Alarcón warned that the mobilizations at various points in Santiago would continue. "All the shutdowns that are in Santiago are commanded by the unions behind me. Here there are presidents of each union and each group, and all these shutdowns are commanded from there," he stated. The leader detailed that the blockades would remain on Route 5 South, at the Colón crossing in San Bernardo; over the Maipo River; in Rengo and Rapel; as well as on Route 5 North, in the Huertos Familiares area in Tiltil, and on Route 68, at Noviciado, in Pudahuel. "Those points will not stand down until solutions are found for everyone," Alarcón added. From Carabineros de Chile it was reported that the traffic jam extended for several kilometers on Route 68, causing problems for residents of the Ciudad de Los Valles, Lomas de Lo Aguirre and Praderas de Lo Aguirre areas. Transporters maintain mobilizations in the regions In Temuco, La Araucanía Region, transporters also did not stand down after the Executive's announcement. This was confirmed by Yuri Sobarzo, as reported by Mega. "We are not going to move because the rank and file said so. I have to respect what the people said; there is a tacit commitment with the community. Inconveniences are generated, and the reception from the people in Temuco has been good, and we have to respect what the people gave us," he stated. The leader also questioned the representation of Cristian Sandoval, president of the Fuerza Norte Transporters Confederation, in the negotiations with the government and asserted that he did not have authorization from the rank and file to sign the document. "Cristian Sandoval already signed a document that has no backing whatsoever, because in the meeting we held, he was asked to give us time to ask the rank and file. While we were doing that, Sandoval appears on television signing a document he was not authorized to sign, so he does not represent us, and I'm sorry for Cristián," he added. In Valparaíso, meanwhile, the Association of Independent Truckers also distanced itself from the understanding reached by the organizations that participated in the negotiations and did not clear the roads in the Placilla area. In fact, during the government's announcement, the transporters placed two trucks across both directions of Route 68. Likewise, bus drivers who remained paralyzed in San Bernardo also did not remove their vehicles from the road, where up to 30 vehicles were gathered. On Route 9 North, at the access to Punta Arenas, trucks also did not leave the road, with up to 30 vehicles accumulated at the site. A different situation occurred in Talca, where the transporters who had been stationed at kilometer 249 of Route 5 South, at the access to the city, initially resisted standing down and awaited instructions from the Fuerza Norte Transporters Confederation. Finally, they left the road. Jorge Guzmán, president of the Talca truckers' group, told Mega that the Executive's proposal did not fully meet their expectations, although he valued the understanding reached. "Maybe it's not what we thought, it could be a bit more, but we have to be consistent with the fact that things were complicated and it was an international matter that raised our fuel prices. It wasn't what we wanted, but something is something," he stated, referring to the reduction of up to 300 pesos per liter they were demanding for fuels.