• STRANDED: At least 19 cargo trains moving 1,724 containers are stranded in Mexico’s western state of Michoacán since Monday due to blockades by students affiliated to rural teachers schools affecting local industries and trade with the United States.
• JOBS: Since at least August of this year, students have decided to blockade the Michoacán rail line connecting Central Mexico to the port of Lázaro Cárdenas in the Pacific Coast in order to pressure the Mexican Government to commit to provide close to 1,000 job posts once they graduate.
• INACTION: Despite at least 25 legal complaints by affected industries, the Michoacán state Attorney General Office said there was no plan for the use of force against the students; the local industrial association said that the blockades risks manufacturing plants to go idle.
• COSTS: Back in January, similar blockades generated an economic loss of USD 104 million, according to local business organizations; stranded trains transport different kinds of cargo including fuel for the state-owned oil company Pemex, retail merchandise and auto parts.
