Clashes Erupt at Farmworkers' Protest in Baja California, Over 200 Arrested El Jefazo - The Fulano Forum
go to original March 19, 2015

Over 200 people were arrested when clashes broke out between police and farmworkers who were protesting in San Quintin, Baja California, Wednesday, to demand higher wages and better working conditions. (RuptlyTV)

For the second day in a row, protesters intermittently blocked sections of the Transpeninsular Highway south of Ensenada around San Quintin on Wednesday, demanding higher pay and improved working conditions on the farms that grow strawberries, tomatoes and other produce for the U.S. market.

Police arrested more than 200 people on charges that included vandalism and blocking a roadway, the Baja California government announced late Wednesday. Schools were closed, and many residents stayed home. Tourists traveling the highway, Baja California’s main artery, found themselves spending the night in hotels and campgrounds.

...The protesters, called “Alianza Nacional, Estatal y Municipal,” have presented a list of demands that include higher pay, health benefits, overtime pay, and the rescinding of a contract signed by two unions, CTM and CROM with the Growers Association, “for the serious violations to our labor and human rights,” according to a flier distributed by the protesters.

Located some 200 miles from the border, San Quintin is the hub of is a major agricultural region, with large farms focused on the growing produce for export. Many of the farmworkers are Mixtec and Triqui Indians from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.

Read the rest at The Fulano Forum

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