MEXICO CITY (AP) — Police arrested more than 200 people in the Mexican border state of Baja California in a bid to quash protests and road blockages by farmworkers demanding higher wages, officials said Wednesday.
Farmworkers around the town of San Quintin often make less than $8 a day picking fruit and vegetables. They want wages raised to about $20 a day, according to some protesters.
In a statement posted on the website of one of the organizers, the workers said they want overtime pay, benefits, medical care and an end to sexual harassment by bosses.
The stoppages have affected the rich agricultural area south of the coastal city of Ensenada. Many of the large farms export much of their produce to the United States, while many of the farm workers come from poor southern states like Oaxaca and Chiapas.
The Baja California state government said the 200 were arrested on suspicion of vandalism and blocking roads. Photos from the protests showed some demonstrators starting trash fires on roads.
Authorities offered increased inspections to guarantee working conditions for about 1,200 day laborers who have no union representation.
The state government vowed to keep the roads open and said authorities "warned that there will be no tolerance for those who use demonstrations to act outside the law."
The U.S. consulate in Tijuana said the stoppages began Tuesday and advised travelers to exercise caution. The highway is the main route along the Baja peninsula.
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