Blockade that led to supply problems at several Tijuana gas stations lifted

An agreement between a group of local residents and Mexican officials led to the end of a blockade outside a Rosarito supply plant that had affected dozens of gas stations in Tijuana for days, Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila announced Saturday.

“This decision definitively solves the gasoline supply problem that we citizens have been facing in recent days,” Ávila said in a video posted on her social media accounts.

A group of residents from the Maclovio Rojas neighborhood in Tijuana set up the blockade in front of Pemex gasoline plant in Rosarito that supplies about 235 gas stations in Tijuana, Rosarito and Tecate.

The group is demanding the Mexican government meet their request to legally recognize land in their neighborhood that the residents said belongs to them. The community is about 20 miles from where the demonstration took place.

Ávila acknowledged the willingness of the demonstrators, who have been at the site since last Sunday night, to negotiate and said they would continue the dialogue to resolve “this complex issue.”

The announcement was made in the midst of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s scheduled visit to Mexicali and nearly a week before Mexico’s presidential election.

Concerns about gas shortages led to panic buying and long lines at gas stations throughout the city for most of the week. As the hours ticked by, it became harder to find gas at many stations. Drivers took to social media groups to ask others if they knew which stations had fuel available. Some schools even switched their classes to virtual format for a day to help students.

Ávila thanked residents, businesses and visitors for their “patience and cooperation” during the blockade.

More than 160 gas stations closed temporarily this week, and those that didn’t experienced some sort of shortage, estimated Alejandro Borja with the National Chamber of Commerce of Tijuana, or Canaco.

Additional gas trucks were dispatched to bring gas from Ensenada and Mexicali to Tijuana to alleviate the situation.

Borja estimated that it would take days to normalize supplies to all gas stations and estimated losses in the millions of pesos. Business representatives in Tijuana had expressed concern that the problem had begun right before the Memorial Day holiday, when more visitors were expected in the region.

Borja said while people may encounter long lines over the weekend, “I already have a feeling that things will be calmer.”

In a video addressed to the media, Juan de Dios Escalante, a spokesperson for the residents, said that they would leave the area Saturday and that they would continue conversations with authorities in the hopes of starting a process to obtain their property titles.

He also apologized to the community but said they are not “the only ones responsible” for the disturbance. Another meeting between the two sides is expected to take place next week.