Colombian Government Reaches Agreement With Truckers to End Their Strike

September 6, 2024 Hour: 11:55 am

Transportation Minister Garcia stated that the agreement includes a gradual increase in the price of diesel.

On Friday, the administration of President Gustavo Petro reached an agreement with truckers and transport representatives to lift the blockades they had been carrying out since Monday on several roads across the country and at the exits of Bogota.

Transportation Minister Maria Constanza Garcia stated that the agreement includes a gradual increase in the price of diesel, which will take effect starting Saturday. “Fourteen other points were agreed upon, including suspending further hikes until structural changes are made in the sector and setting up technical committees to allow for regulatory adjustments,” she added.

At the end of August, Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla announced that the price of diesel would increase by US$1.44 in 2024, adding that there would be three additional hikes of US$0.48 each in 2025. After the increase, the average price of diesel per gallon was US$2.73. However, according to the government, the price should be $3.18, as it has been frozen since January 1, 2020.

The agreement between the authorities and the transporters includes an increase of US$0.19, half of which will be implemented this month and the other half on December 1.

Hoy Colombia recibe una buena noticia: el levantamiento del paro de camioneros, que se logra a través de la escucha, el diálogo, el consenso y la voluntad política; de eso se trata el #AcuerdoNacional. Esta es una gran lección para el país.

Lo clave: en el centro estarán las… pic.twitter.com/GouWB3z9R5
— María José Pizarro Rodríguez (@PizarroMariaJo) September 6, 2024

Senator Maria Jose Pizarro’s text reads, “Today Colombia received good news: the lifting of the truckers’ strike, which was achieved through listening, dialogue, consensus, and political will. This is what the National Agreement is about. This is a great lesson for the country. The most important thing is that the bases of the transporters’ union will be at the center.”

“We resolved the trucker strike faster and better than expected. Congratulations to the small truckers who made their advocacy agenda a priority over other unrelated agendas. We will deliver on our promises,” President Petro assured.

Before reaching the current agreement, the Colombian government harshly criticized the “inflexible attitude” of the transportation union, which had paralyzed the main routes in Norte de Santander, Santander, Antioquia, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Nariño, Meta, and 16 other Colombian departments.

During the days of the strike, authorities recorded 153 protest activities, 89 permanent blockades, 38 intermittent blockades, and 26 gatherings in 142 municipalities, involving approximately 5,577 people and 1,881 vehicles. The situation also led the state oil company Ecopetrol to announce that it had begun shutting down oil and liquefied petroleum gas production fields due to road blockades.