Costa Maya, Q.R. — Taxi drivers from Bacalar and Mahahual remained stationed outside the Chetumal offices of the Quintana Roo Mobility Institute (Imoveqroo) for nearly six hours Wednesday.
The drivers were upset at the lack of response from Imoveqroo head Rodrigo Alcázar Urrutia in their requests for rate increases and additional permits. Taxi drivers from both municipalities say it has been more than two years since they have had an approved rate increase.
Their protest was timed during a vacation absence of Alcázar Urrutia. Instead, the upset drivers were met by other Imoveqroo delegates who they claimed lacked authority to address their concerns. In his place, they demanded to speak with State Secretary Cristina Torres.
While Torres did not appear, the Undersecretary of State Police Viveros Hernández and the Technical Undersecretary of the Government Secretariat Esther Burgos, arrived to talk with the drivers who by that time, had a section of busy roadway blocked.
Hernández and Burgos spoke with the General Secretary of the Bacalar Taxi Driver’s Union Jimmy Vázquez and the leader of the Mahahual Taxi Driver’s Union Martha Patricia Poot Villegas.
Both sides agreed to a meeting next week in Chetumal that is to include both Rodrigo Alcázar Urrutia and Cristina Torres. The angry drivers threatened to block the Chetumal-Bacalar federal highway if that meeting should fail.
