Tranquilo Oaxaca?
On Monday morning March 26, I went to my dentist appointment. The dentist was 45 minutes late. She explained there was a taxi strike and she had had to walk to work. The dust in this country is unbelievable and if I wash it myself with a pan of water I have to get on a ladder to reach the roof of the Land Cruiser. So I drove to the Periferico where I knew there to be an automatic car wash. But when I got to the big intersection at the Pemex station, the road was blocked with at least 50 taxis. So couldn’t come back down the same street to get back home. Had to turn right and follow a slow snaking line of cars around neighborhood after neighborhood for an hour to find a way back.
Apparently, the taxi drivers of Oaxaca – the state, not just the city – called a strike and road-block to protest the indiscriminate sale of taxi licenses which has prevailed since the last governor found it an easy way to raise money. Taxis blocked the principle accesses to Oaxaca City, while 250 “companies” of taxi fleets participated in the statewide protest. The taxi drivers are protesting the illegal issuance of permits and concessions to thousands of “pirate” taxis and “moto-taxis” as well as legal permits being suddenly declared “illegal”. Twenty thousand pesos or so will get you anything. Proper and timely legal documentation gets you nada.
On top of that a friend of mine had to quit the taxi business… as the driver, if your car breaks down, the owner makes you fix it yourself.
Tags: Mexico, Oaxaca
Zoe
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