CNTE blockade of Pemex terminal triggers fuel shortages and long lines in Oaxaca

The Section 22 of the teachers' union CNTE has blocked the Pemex storage and distribution terminal in Santa María El Tule, Oaxaca. The blockade prevents gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas trucks from leaving the plant, halting deliveries to the Valles Centrales and the Valle de Tlacolula.

Fuel shortages have forced the closure of dozens of stations—about 90 service stations depend on the terminal’s deliveries—while remaining stations report long queues and panic buying. José Luis Ballesteros, head of the Oaxaca Gas Station Association, said the stations are not closing as a protest but because they have no product to sell.

The disruption has also affected the Oaxaca International Airport, with several flights cancelled, and has contributed to school closures that leave nearly one million students out of class across eleven education levels. The union demands the reinstatement of a central dialogue table with the federal government.