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Mexican farmer protest blocks US border bridge / Photo: HERIKA MARTINEZ - AFP
Mexican farmer protest blocks US border bridge
Hundreds of farmworkers and truck drivers blocked the Mexican side of a major border bridge with the United States on Monday as part of an ongoing national farmers' strike.
The protest blocked the Zaragoza-Ysleta International Bridge, which connects the US city of El Paso, Texas with Mexico's Ciudad Juarez. An estimated 70 percent of trade between the two countries passes through such border crossings.
The protest came in response to several reforms in the General Water Law promoted by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, which would ban the sale of concession titles or their transfer. Similar demonstrations were conducted in 16 states across Mexico.
"We don't want them (the government) to monopolize the water and do whatever they want with the permits," said Gerardo Fierro, one of the farmers at the protest.
Protests also saw agricultural workers storm the customs offices in Ciudad Juarez.
Javier Jurado, president of an agricultural business, said Sheinbaum's administration wants to "hijack" the water and leave farmers "defenseless."
Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez addressed the protests at a press conference in Mexico City, saying that "there is no motive for the protests...unless they are politically motivated."
M.Johnston--SMC
