By this means, the Committee of Producers and Exporters of Peas and Vegetables of the Guatemalan Association of Exporters -AGEXPORT-, express our deep rejection of the illegal blockades that groups interested in promoting economic and social chaos are installing on the highways, roads, streets and avenues of the country, affecting the production and marketing of vegetables that more than 75,000 Guatemalan families in rural areas produce with effort and dedication and that represent months of work and the investment of their limited savings.
Inability to export, a consequence of blockades
Given the inability on our part to be able to collect, process and export said production as a consequence of the blockades, we inform the people of Guatemala that these events are causing more than half a million people to run the risk of being left without receiving the income they allow them to bring daily sustenance to their homes. In addition, more than 25,000 employees are having difficulty reaching their workplaces and, therefore, are not receiving income either, which makes the situation even more serious.
Farmers in the Departments of Sacatepéquez, Chimaltenango, Sololá, San Marcos, Huehuetenango, Quiché, Alta and Baja Verapaz and Jalapa, produce, among other vegetables; broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, Brussels sprouts, Chinese and sweet peas, Creole peas, green beans and many other vegetables destined for export and have NOT been able to mobilize their products due to illegal blockades.
Given this situation, all the technological and training advances carried out over 45 years in the indicated regions and that have allowed a true agricultural reconversion, making it more efficient, productive and sustainable for the benefit of families that in this way have been able to of poverty, are at high risk of being interrupted because non-compliance in shipments to international markets can cause distrust in the country to be generated among clients and for that reason orders to be temporarily or permanently interrupted.
It is urgent that the current crisis be resolved as soon as possible (hours) in order to restore normality and end this period of considerable losses that are causing so much damage to citizens in general.
We call on the actors involved to, through dialogue, find a solution to this critical situation and we also request that the authorities in charge of ensuring the rights of free movement of all Guatemalans proceed in accordance with the resolution of the Constitutional Court in order to leave all communication channels open.
For all of the above, we ask the PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA, Dr. Alejandro Giammattei, to remove the blockades in all the country as established by the Constitutional Court and the Public Ministry, and to guarantee the free movement of all people of Guatemala.