If there is one word that defines the current panorama of roads in Colombia, it is: blockades. And it is that, whether due to landslides, or protests by citizens due to the floods that their region presents, or disagreement over the exploitation of coal mines, the closed roads of the national territory already threaten with a rise in prices that sooner rather than later it will reach the pocket of Colombians.
To begin with, and due to the La Niña phenomenon, which has already completed three consecutive years of rain, a landslide on the Pan-American highway has cut off the south of the country, a region that has not been able to produce for more than two weeks and that already has shortages. in gasoline, inputs for agriculture, concentrate for animals and other basic products.
In this region, for example, 40% of the national potato production is produced, a fact that, according to Plinio Hernández, president of the Colombian Paper Unit, will begin to put pressure on the price of this tuber throughout the country.
While Germán Palacio, manager of Fedepapa added that, “Nariño supplies other areas of the country with some 100,000 tons of potatoes per month, so only this week in that department they have dammed around 25,000 tons. If Nariño cannot supply the southwestern part of the country, potatoes must be taken from Bogotá and other areas, which implies more costs and a smaller supply.”
And this is just one of the more than five products that could start to rise in price due to the road blockade. Some foods that will rise are milk, strawberries, onions, and garlic. On the other hand, in the department of Santander, more specifically in La Ruta del Sol, there is also a total blockade by the citizens of the region that has already completed 48 hours.
In this way, the road that connects Bucaramanga with the municipality of Barrancabermeja, right in the sectors of Oponcito, La Lizama and Campo 23, remain totally blocked by hundreds of people who protest against the license for the exploitation of open pit coal that was granted to the mining company Colcco SA.
The National Association of Businessmen of Colombia (Andi), Santander section, asked to prioritize dialogue as a way to solve the current crisis that the department is suffering.
