Bacalar, Q.R. — Police arrived at a federal highway blockade Friday after area residents protested utility problems. The blockade was timed with the arrival of President Andres Manuel López Obrador.
The President arrived in Chetumal Friday evening for another construction tour of the airport and Maya Train. A group of Bacalar residents used that visit to block a section of federal road from Chetumal to the town of Limones in the municipality of Bacalar.
The road was blocked in protest after failed negotiations with local authorities to deal with their electrical blackout problems. Without power, the water pumps cannot work, which means they are also left without water.
“We want the President to listen to us and to attend to us because we have not received a response from the Federal Electricity Commission,” they shouted.
The group of approximately 70 were hoping to share their grievances with López Obrador upon arriving in Chetumal, however, that did not happen. Police were sent to deal with the blocked road since traffic was backed up for kilometers.
The Secretaría de Seguridad Ciudadana of Quintana Roo reported “We inform the public that the blockade on the federal highway Chetumal – Limones, at the junction to Miguel Hidalgo, was lifted about an hour ago. Circulation flows normally.”
State Secretary Cristine Torres was also sent to talk with the group. The highway was eventually unblocked and traffic allowed to pass.