Sinaloa farmers occupy toll booth, block highway demanding pending support payments

Farmers in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa have intensified their protests, occupying toll booths and blocking major highways to demand overdue payments for agricultural support programs. Producers of rain-fed crops, affiliated with the National Union of Agricultural Workers, have been demonstrating since last year, citing a lack of catastrophic insurance payments and other subsidies crucial for covering fuel and machinery costs, especially after a drought.

In Guasave, farmers occupied the Cuatro Caminos toll booth, allowing free passage for vehicles. They warned that their actions would escalate if they did not receive a response, threatening to mobilize producers from other municipalities for a total blockade of toll plazas.

Meanwhile, corn producers in the state capital, Culiacán, blocked the Culiacán-Navolato highway near the airport. They are demanding outstanding payments of 800 pesos per ton and an additional 500 pesos under the FIRA scheme. These farmers initially protested at the offices of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development, where they were informed by the local delegate that a response would not be available until the weekend.

This notification prompted the corn producers to close the highway, causing significant traffic disruptions. The blockade affects access to Culiacán's international airport, a penitentiary, and the public security complex. Traffic officials are working to establish alternative routes for motorists.

Baltazar Valdez Armentía, president of the "Campesinos Unidos de Sinaloa" (United Farmers of Sinaloa) group, stated they are awaiting a direct response from the federal Secretary of Agriculture, Columba Jazmín López Gutiérrez. He indicated that protests would be elevated if a concrete resolution is not reached.

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We are waiting to have telephone contact with the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Federal, Columba Jazmín López Gutiérrez, and if there is no concrete response, we are going to escalate our protests.