Teachers from the CNTE (Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación, or National Coordinator of Education Workers) and residents of the Maclovio Rojas settlement blocked the free highway between Tijuana and Tecate on Thursday, June 18, shutting down both directions of traffic for more than five hours.
The blockade began at 8:30 a.m. near the Ojo de Agua neighborhood, a location on the toll-free corridor between the two cities. Thousands of drivers and commercial transporters were left stranded in both directions. Only emergency vehicles, including ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks, were allowed through.
Two Groups, Two Sets of Demands
The protest brought together two groups with separate grievances against the federal government of President Claudia Sheinbaum. CNTE teachers are demanding the repeal of the ISSSTE (Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado) pension law, which they say harmed their retirement benefits. Jerónimo Castro Fuentes, the CNTE’s municipal coordinator in Tijuana, said the government has proposed alternatives related to changes in the education workers’ labor framework, but those proposals do not address the union’s core demands.
Residents of Maclovio Rojas, a settlement in the area between Tijuana and Tecate, joined the blockade to demand that the federal government resume a process to regularize land titles for properties they have occupied for more than three decades.
Alternate Routes and What to Know
The free Tijuana-Tecate highway is a major route for commuters, cross-border travelers, and anyone heading to or from Tecate without paying tolls. Drivers caught in the blockade faced hours of gridlock with no way to turn around easily at the Ojo de Agua chokepoint. The toll highway (cuota) between the two cities remained open as an alternative.
CNTE blockades have become a recurring disruption on Baja California highways in recent years. The union has staged multiple road closures to pressure the federal government on pension and labor issues. One report noted that CNTE members also caused traffic problems near the Tijuana airport and announced a future protest at the El Chaparral border crossing area.
As of early Thursday afternoon, the blockade at Ojo de Agua was still in place after more than five hours with no resolution announced. Drivers heading between Tijuana and Tecate should check road conditions before departing and consider the toll highway as an alternative. This story was first reported by Semanario Zeta.