Demonstrators demand the withdrawal of state police. The municipal government tells them to complain to the Chapala Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Almost a hundred vehicles blocked the main intersection of Chapala between Francisco I. Madero Avenue, Hidalgo and Morelos Street, for about an hour.
Editors.- For the second time, drivers of «Uber» cars have demonstrated in Chapala against the alleged abuses of authority, robbery and extortion by the state police, demanding the municipal authority withdraw the patrols from the area.
Around 100 cars closed Hidalgo Avenue at its intersection with Morelos in Chapala for about an hour, and then took the Chapala-Jocotepec highway towards Ajijic. The traffic blockade also affected traffic on the main avenue of Chapala, Francisco I. Madero Avenue.
“State agents out!” shouted the demonstrators in unison outside the Chapala City Hall building. This newspaper was present at the demonstration, however the demonstrators refused to make any statements.
After the hour of blockade in the municipal seat, the almost one hundred vehicles went to the intersection of the Chapala-Jocotepec highway at the entrance to Ajijic, in order to pressure the government to withdraw the CP-003, PA-024 and CP-028 units from the region. In response, the National Guard was present to mediate and reopen the roadway after approximately half an hour.
As a result, the government of Chapala issued a statement through social media declaring that despite respecting the right to free expression, it will not tolerate people outside the municipality to block the roads. It also demanded to see the permits of the demonstrating drivers.
“This Government will not tolerate that people from other neighboring municipalities close roads and alter the lives of Chapalenses, for reasons that are outside the law” read the statement, and went to urge that, ‘We urge individuals that if they have complaints for state agencies to appear before them or file complaints with the appropriate authorities’.”
The message reminded them that it is the Secretary of Transportation (Setran) of the State of Jalisco, the only one empowered to issue permits and regularize the service providers of transportation platforms or Transportation Network Companies.
After this second demonstration in Chapala, some of the transporters met with the coordinator of advisors of the Municipality of Chapala, Juan Carlos Pelayo Pelayo, who invited them to denounce the alleged extortion by elements of the state police to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Pelayo Pelayo asked them to present proof of the accusation, but clarified that it was beyond the powers of the municipal government to ask the State police to stop patrolling the streets of the municipality. «Chapala is also Jalisco’s territory,» the public official was heard saying in a video posted on social networks by the Facebook account: Reporters Anonymous.
The protests stem from the fact that elements of the state police have allegedly taken cash from several of the drivers in their so-called «routine checks», which have intensified over the last three weeks.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was the alleged robbery of 7,500 pesos from a driver of the cars popularly known as «Uber ‘s», but which are not licensed Uber drivers, which makes them more vulnerable to this type of alleged abuse of authority.
The first protest that took place on February 7 with 30 drivers, in front of the State Police headquarters, installed in the Parque de la Cristianía, located to the east of the municipal capital of Chapala, has grown in number of protesters.
On this second occasion there were around one hundred cars that took to the streets to demonstrate, as opposed to the 30 units that protested on the first occasion.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
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