Taxi drivers suspend day of blockades in Bogotá

The mayoress of Bogotá Claudia López He said that the taxi driver strike day that was scheduled for this Monday, January 23, was cancelled.

“I want to give a piece of peace of mind. Taxi union representatives have let us know that they will continue to participate in the dialogue tables with @SectorMovilidad @MinTransporteCo and will not strike. Happy back to school girls and boys tomorrow! Happy week for everybody!” Wrote the mayor.

Hugo Ospina, one of the leaders of the taxi drivers in Bogotá, had anticipated that this Monday, January 23, he would paralyze Bogotá with a protest for, as he stressed, the abuses of the authorities against the union.

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Ospina also indicated, in an interview with Blu Radio, that in Bogotá there is no Ministry of Mobility and regretted that the mayoress Claudia López do not take measures to mitigate the impact of the works on traffic that have affected mobility.

“On January 23, we took over the city again because the abuses continue and the Ministry of Mobility does not face us. This Monday there will be a great takeover of the city, not the few that we stopped”, the spokesperson for the taxi drivers had anticipated.

Ospina added that, despite the fact that he had promised not to block the roads of the citycalled the protest for the “irresponsibility of the mayoress Claudia López”.

“LThe mayoress wants to look good in everything. Mayor, I am not responsible for mobility in Bogotá. You have paralyzed the city due to the number of works without workers everywhere”, he explained.

This protest scheduled for this Monday gained strength after, last Thursday, a group of taxi drivers will block 26th street in Bogotá for the immobilization of a vehicle whose driver left it badly parked in front of the Gran Estación shopping center, to go to the bathroom.

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The man got on the crane, locked himself in the car and spent the night in the courtyards, as a form of protest: “They did the police procedure wrong. The seals were wrong, they were almost loose. When they do the police procedure they must do it at the point where it is. The car was taken to the courts of Cundinamarca to do the procedure there”.

The fact caused discontent among the taxi drivers’ union, who as a way of solidarity -according to their version- with their partner, They decided to block different roads in Bogotá. One of the most affected was Ciudad de Cali avenue with 26th streetwhich caused passenger arrivals at El Dorado International Airport to be affected.

In a tweet, the local president assured that, although the mobility teams tried to dialogue with the union, the leader of the taxi drivers only further incited the road blockade.

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Finally, the strike will not take place, which is good news, since the return of students to their respective classes is scheduled for this Monday. Taxi union representatives will continue to participate in the dialogue tables.

TIME