Chile's Kast struggles to end nationwide truckers' strike
The government proposed a 90-day freeze after hundreds of trucks blocked highways and access to major seaports, threatening export shipments.
- On Thursday, Chilean President José Antonio Kast submitted an expedited $550 million bill to freeze gasoline and diesel prices until Feb. 3, authorizing the Finance Ministry to restore fuel costs to Nov. 4 levels.
- Nationwide highway blockades entered their third day Thursday as truckers and transport operators protested rising fuel costs, with demonstrations beginning Tuesday on Route 68 in Santiago.
- Cherry shipments to China face potential delays as the harvest season begins, while blockades have restricted access to main seaports handling fruit, salmon, and wine.
- Socialist Party Sen. Paulina Vodanovic and freight representative Juan Araya criticized the late response, with Araya telling Radio Infinita, "Ninety percent of truckers voted for President Kast. People had very high hopes, and this is hitting us hard."
- Modifications to the Fuel Price Stabilization Mechanism in March increased transportation costs, and although President Kast proposed a 90-day freeze, protesters continue demanding a freeze lasting at least four months.
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77 Articles
Chilean Trucking Union Blockades Force Fuel Price Freeze
Trucking union blockades have evolved into a mechanism for influencing national fiscal policy, as evidenced by the government's decision to freeze fuel prices until February. Claudio Agostini, an economist at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, characterizes these actions as "blackmail," arguing that state decisions are increasingly driven by protester demands rather than economic rationale. The precedent for securing tax concessions through mobilization…
In Chile, fuel prices have risen again. The country has seen multiple increases since José Antonio Kast's far right government came to power in March 2026. Truckers, angry, have been disrupting the main roads throughout the country since Tuesday, November 10.
Truck drivers, taxi drivers and professional motorists had blocked roads in Chile due to the high price of diesel The post Chile: Cancels fuel price increases to end roadblocks appeared first on in.gr.
Agreement between the Cast government and the transport unions to cancel the last price increase and reduce it by 100 pesos (0.09 euros) per liter
President José Antonio Kast has responded this Thursday to truckers and other transport unions, who have exacerbated roadblocks despite the proposal announced on Wednesday by the biministro Claudio Alvarado (Interior and General Secretariat of the Government), who has decided to freeze fuel price hikes for 90 days and to present a project to reverse the latest increase in the price of gasoline and diesel. The president has alluded to the social …
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