• TAKEOVERS: Informal groups of protestors have increased the number of illegal takeovers of highway toll booths across Mexico since the beginning of the pandemic downturn with at least 20 incidents of people collecting money from motorists in six Mexican states reported Sunday.
• DAMAGES: A long standing form of protest in Mexico, illegal takeovers of highway toll booths have multiplied this year causing damages for the equivalent of US $146 million during the past nine months according to Mexico’s private highways operators association (AMCIV).
• CUERNAVACA: On Sunday, three different groups hijacked the main toll plaza along the highway from Mexico City to Cuernavaca demanding motorists for “donations” to allegedly help teacher college students and employees of tourism industries affected by the pandemic downturn.
• AUTHORITIES: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in September that the Mexican federal government will no longer tolerate the illegal takeover of highway toll booths. In most recent cases however, the Mexican National Guard has avoided taking action against protestors.
