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Porteadores Suspend
Protest. For Now.
The porteadores (informal taxis) have called
off their protest for today, Friday. The
group has said it will wait the announcement
of the government that has promised them an
answer by next Wednesday.
Leaders of the porteadores were adamant that
if a mutual accord is not reached, there
will be more blockades.
On Wednesday, police had to use tear gas and
call in the anti-riot group to re-open the
Zapote rotonda and quell a confrontation
that left up to 10 police officers injured
and several of the porteadores, when the
peaceful action turned violent.
At the heart of the problem, the porteadores
say they were promised by the current
government to right to operate within the
law, while the current legislature is
getting set to vote on changes to the "Codigo
de Comercio" (Commercial Code) that
eliminates the porteo and thus make the
services of porteadores illegal.
The porteo allows private individuals and
companies to provide private transportation
services, meaning they cannot pick up
customers on-the-fly in the same way as the
official taxis and must have a written
contract between the provider of the service
and customer.
Opponents to the porteo say that most of the
porteadores act as taxis, picking customers
on the street corner, including using taxi
meters (marías) similar to the taxis, but
without the required semi-annual vehicle
inspections and required insurance that
formal taxis must comply with and place
customers at risk.
However, the porteadores say that the
majority of the group comply or would comply
with any regulations placed on them and
that, in a democratic state, they have the
right to earn a living.
The decision on the porteo is expected on
Wednesday, after which the porteadores have
to increase their protests if the decision,
what they say the government has promised
them, goes their way. |
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