A protest against Uber in Mexico 'paralyzed the roadways' before turning into a violent street riot
A protest against Uber in Guadalajara, Mexico, turned violent on Tuesday, as taxi drivers demonstrating against Uber and other ride-hailing services clashed with supporters of the companies and with police.
The protest "paralyzed the roadways" in the city after a "massive closure of avenues with at least two thousand vehicles," according to Mexican newspaper La Jornada.
The protesters were calling on the local government to punish private vehicles that were offering Uber services, according to Mexico City-based newspaper Milenio, and were asking for the government to develop a fair proposal for the ride-hailing service to operate.
The tweet below shows taxi drivers amassing in the city center and blocking roadways with their vehicles. The drivers were gathering outside the state congress building.
The protest was announced last week with the intention of it happening before the state congress discussed the regulation of the ride-hailing services in the state of Jalisco, of which Guadalajara is the capital.
A local workers' organization said allowing Uber into the Guadalajara market would be a "severe blow" to the traditional taxi business and that the ride-hailing service would be "unfair competition."
"Uber is affecting us a lot. They're taking the food off our table," a taxi driver in Guadalajara told Vice News in August last year. "I've been working for 23 years but there are people who have been taxi drivers for 50 years, people who are old, who won't find work anywhere else."
