TIJUANA.- On January 30, 2016, residents from communities located south of the Playas de Tijuana toll booth united for the third occasion to protest what they argue is a violation of their constitutional right to freely travel within their city. Residents of more than a dozen communities including San Antonio del Mar, Baja Malibu, Real del Mar, and Hacienda del Mar are fed up with the toll charge. Residents are also frustrated by the lack of response from authorities after more than a year since the movement began.

With the support of city councilmembers and local and federal delegates, the protesters raised up the toll booth booms to the delight of passing motorists who didn't have to pay the $31 peso toll fee. Since the last protest on November 29 2015, representatives and attorneys for the group have continued to attempt to arrange a meeting with authorities responsible for the toll booth, including the Secretariat of Communication and Transportation (SCT), the Federal Highway and Bridges authority (CAPUFE) and BANOBRAS (the state-owned development and infrastructure bank that administers the toll proceeds).

The first hearing on a constitutional injunction (amparo) filed by the group was deferred this week for the second time to February 24, 2016 in, what the group alleges, is a legal strategy by the government to avoid the issue. If the amparo is successful, the law would be amended to include an exemption scheme for residents who have no alternative free route to travel to and from their homes. In the meantime, the group continues to work on parallel strategies to attempt to force the issue, such as this protest.

As the group of protesters began to dwindle, Alfredo Perez Guzman, Subdirector of Resource Management for the toll booth concessionary BANOBRAS arrived on site to speak with the group. Representatives of the group had previously reached out to BANOBRAS in July of last year, at which time they traveled to Mexico City for the meeting with the hopes of establishing a roundtable committee with all involved authorities to no avail.

The group reiterated that they are not asking for the toll booth to be removed entirely, even though its intended purpose to pay for the construction of the toll road has long since been completed many times over. "We are making a fair petition, to sit down for a discussion, and reach an agreement whereby residents can receive an exemption."

According to Perez Guzman, around thirty percent of the proceeds from the toll booth pay for the maintenance of the toll road itself, and the remainder finances other projects under the direction of the Secretariat of Communication and Transportation and other Secretariats including that of Tourism and of the Environment.

Perez Guzman claims that the group's petition was previously discussed with the board of BANOBRAS's Technical Commision and that an expansion of the register of inhabitants was approved in October 2015. He is unsure how CAPUFE implemented this expansion in terms of requirements. However, he stated that BANOBRAS's duties consist of collection, operation and financing of other infrastructure projects and that they have already responded to the group's request to the extent of their authority. According to Perez Guzman, "the law is very clear, SCT has the judicial authority to fix the rates not the concessionary [BANOBRAS], because if that were the case concessionaries could charge whatever they like".

However, Monica Jimenez states that while BANOBRAS is blaming the SCT, the SCT and CAPUFE in turn are blaming BANOBRAS and, "everybody has me like a ball bouncing around". The group states that it has exhausted all channels, "I don't know where else to go, I have already filed petitions with the SCT, CAPUFE, BANOBRAS, the President of Mexico and the Mayor of Tijuana. That is why we are here, not because we like to or for fun. We don't like being here, but freedom of movement is our constitutional right and you are violating that right. It is not fair to even charge us three pesos, because if I don't have three pesos I can't leave my house or go back home."

At the close of the conversation, Perez Guzman agreed to facilitate a meeting with the three involved authorities — SCT, BANOBRAS and CAPUFE— and the representatives of the group to attempt to work toward a solution. According to the group, in the absence of meaningful action by authorities they will continue to organize periodic protests.

In addition to the residents, Tijuana representatives Maria Luis Sanchez, Cuauhtemoc Cardona, Gerardo Alvarez, Jackie Nava, Jose Teodoro Barraza, and city councilmember Felipe Ledezma were present at the protest to voice their support for the group's requests.

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