Toll deduction dispute: Mexico's trucking sector strikes – roads into the capital affected
The freight association Canacar called an indefinite nationwide strike for Monday. The trigger is a tax change limiting the deduction of highway tolls, on top of long-standing complaints about robberies and extortion on the highways. There were partial blockades around Mexico City – but the industry itself is divided, and the government is downplaying the impact.
What happened
The freight transport association Canacar called an indefinite national work stoppage for Monday, October 26, backed by groups including Fematrac, Hamotac and Indeco. From early morning, trucks gathered in numerous states. In the greater capital area, Infobae reported a partial blockade of the México–Pachuca highway as well as actions on access roads such as México–Querétaro, México–Toluca, the Circuito Exterior Mexiquense and routes toward Texcoco and Chalco; traffic backed up on Paseo Tollocan in Toluca.
At the heart of the dispute, according to Chilango, is an income tax adjustment: the revenue threshold up to which companies may deduct toll costs is to fall from 300 million to 250 million pesos. The government says this affects only 170 of the sector's 2,580 companies, with 94 percent keeping the benefit, and that the sector received about 115 billion pesos in tax benefits in 2025. Truckers are also demanding safer roads, rules on towing and impound fees, and changes to the 2027 revenue law.
A meeting with the finance and interior ministries was scheduled for Monday morning. President Claudia Sheinbaum stressed that the measure affects only a very small part of the industry; Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez urged the groups to refrain from blockades. The outcome of the talks was not known at the time of writing.
The mood on the ground
The industry itself is far from united. The association Antac withdrew its support, saying the strike's goals were not clearly defined, and according to the interior ministry most organizations accepted the offer of talks. Canacar nonetheless kept its call in place; its president, Augusto Ramos Melo, said the sector needs solutions to keep operating and expects a dialogue with concrete results.
The frustration goes beyond taxes: road insecurity, robberies, extortion and the cost of moving goods are among drivers' core grievances. Most groups emphasized that the protest would be peaceful – trucks parked on shoulders or slow-moving convoys instead of full road closures.
For commuters and travelers in the Mexico City region, the day mainly meant uncertainty: media advised checking updates from the National Guard and highway operator Capufe before setting out. The government insists the tax adjustment will neither raise prices of goods nor disrupt traffic on the federal highways into the capital.
Voices from the media
Sources
This article was rewritten from local-language sources. Every statement about the mood is based on the linked reports.