Coach Drivers’ Protest in Puerto Padre Makes the Government Give In

Coach Drivers' Protest in Puerto Padre Makes the Government Give In /
Alberto Mendez Castello
Posted on October 3, 2013

PUERTO PADRE, Cuba, October 1, 2013, Alberto Mendez Castello /
www.cubanet.org.- A group of coachmen demanding their right to travel on
the road protested this morning, near the municipal government
headquarters here.

The demonstration was strong, but not violent, as the protestors
gathered on Libertad Avenue and Angel Ameijeiras. Parked on this street,
the line of horses and coaches extended more than two blocks. The last
vehicles were parked in front of the Municipal Committee of the PCC
(Communist Party of Cuba ).

Their drivers were waiting for an answer at the gates of Government.

The demonstrating drivers serve the route between the Bus Station and
Guillermo Domínguez Hospital. They are the only transport here that goes
to the city hospital. The local authorities had banned their use of the
road as of last year, alleging damage to the pavement by the hoofs of
the horses and the traffic hazards on a winding curve. To serve their
route after the ban, the drivers were diverted via a recessed side road
and a bridge in disrepair.

Given the demands of the coachmen, the authorities had promised to
repair the bypass road. But only one bulldozer worked the trail, leaving
it equally impassable.

Unfulfilled promises from the highest political and administrative
authorities of the municipality led the drivers to ignore the ban and to
continue using the road. But on Monday the police began to impose fines
on the drivers. The reaction was to paralyze transport by taking their
coaches to go complain to the government.

The Government's response was not long in coming: from now on and until
the problems of the bypass route are solved, they can continue traveling
down the road.

Having achieved their demand, the protest of the drivers in Puerto Padre
ended before noon.

1 October 2013

From Cubanet

Source: "Coach Drivers' Protest in Puerto Padre Makes the Government
Give In / Alberto Mendez Castello | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/coach-drivers-protest-in-puerto-padre-makes-the-government-give-in-alberto-mendez-castello/