DistantNews
Santander Faces Millions in Daily Losses Amidst Cadastral Valuation Protests
🇨🇴 Colombia /Elections & Politics

Santander Faces Millions in Daily Losses Amidst Cadastral Valuation Protests

From El Tiempo · (2d ago) Spanish Critical tone

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Road blockades in Santander, Colombia, protesting a cadastral valuation increase, have caused millions in daily losses, estimated between 80 to 120 billion Colombian pesos.
  • The protests have paralyzed transport, leading to significant disruptions for goods, passengers, and flights.
  • Sectors like agriculture, construction, commerce, and fuel are heavily impacted, with over 10 million eggs reportedly held up.

Santander, Colombia, is currently experiencing severe economic disruption due to widespread road blockades protesting the government's increase in cadastral valuations. For five consecutive days, major routes connecting key areas like Barrancabermeja, Girón, Lebrija, San Gil, and La Mesa de los Santos have been impassable, leading to a near standstill in the transportation of goods and passengers.

El departamento de Santander cumple cinco días de bloqueos en el marco del paro nacional por el inconformismo frente al incremento del avalúo catastral.

— FenalcoDescribing the duration and cause of the ongoing blockades in Santander.

The economic fallout is staggering. Fenalco, the national merchants' association, has reported daily losses ranging from 40 to 70 billion pesos in the Bucaramanga metropolitan area alone, with the entire Santander department losing between 80 and 120 billion pesos each day. This paralysis is not only affecting commerce but also critical infrastructure like air travel; the Palonegro International Airport suspended operations on April 9th and 10th, resulting in the cancellation of approximately 60 flights and leaving an estimated 7,500 passengers stranded.

Los bloqueos hacia Barrancabermeja, Girón, Lebrija, San Gil y la Mesa de los Santos han generado una parálisis en el transporte de carga y pasajeros.

— FenalcoDetailing the specific routes affected and the resulting paralysis in cargo and passenger transport.

The impact extends across multiple vital sectors of the regional economy. The agricultural sector is particularly hard-hit, with reports of over 10 million eggs being held up due to the blockades, threatening spoilage and significant financial losses for producers. Other heavily affected industries include construction, general commerce, and fuel supply chains. Fenalco estimates that each day of the protest could reduce the department's monthly GDP by 0.3% to 0.5%, highlighting the profound economic damage being inflicted.

Alejandro Almeida indicó que en el área metropolitana de Bucaramanga las pérdidas oscilan entre 40.000 y 70.000 millones de pesos diarios, mientras que en Santander alcanzan entre 80.000 y 120.000 millones de pesos diarios.

— Alejandro Almeida (Fenalco)Providing the estimated daily economic losses in Bucaramanga and the wider Santander region due to the blockades.

Logistics operations have seen a drastic reduction, with transport and logistics companies reporting a 40% to 70% decrease in activity, coupled with 20% to 50% increases in operational costs and delays ranging from 24 to 72 hours. The situation has prompted urgent calls for the national government to intervene and negotiate with the protesters to find a resolution and reopen the vital transportation arteries of Santander.

Se estima que cerca de 7.500 pasajeros no han podido viajar y que se han cancelado 60 vuelos entre los días 9 y 10 de abril, cuando se suspendieron las operaciones en el Aeropuerto Internacional Palonegro.

— FenalcoQuantifying the impact on air travel, including stranded passengers and canceled flights.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Tiempo in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog