The Mexican import saga shows no sign of ending, with the ship still impounded, and the crew apparently virtual prisoners as the ship languishes in the port of Altamira.
Understandably, Cemex has been banging its corporate drum about protecting its local market and warning of immense job losses if cement imports are allowed to be sold on the local market.
“Cemex Group will defend their domain in the internal market (of Mexico) against competition of cement imports from other countries”, warned Javier Prieto de la Fuente, Cemex’s institutional director. “Letting in the Mary Nour means firing a lot of Mexican workers” he warned. “It has cost us a lot to win the domestic market, we have been asked to comply with a lot of regulations and laws, we hope this is asked to the others”
Prieto de la Fuente, then urged the federal Government to identify and support those Mexican industries that show international competitiveness. He highlighted that Cemex gained an international presence in 21 countries in only 10 years. Prieto de la Fuente said that the entrepreneur sector should lobby the federal Government to assure the protection of its industry.
Meanwhile lawyers working for CDM, the importers, presented a writ of execution at the PGR (The Republic’s General Law Enforcement Office), in its Human Rights Department. According to file No. 334/2204, this writ of execution is the maltreatment the foreign crew of the Mary Nour received from the authorities of The Port of Tampico and Altamira and in particular, the unwillingness of the authorities to offer normal facilities to the crew or indeed the ship.
