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/