Cart drivers: The controversy in New Mexico pitting animal rights activists against workers

The decision by the Nuevo León Department of the Environment to ban the use of horses and other animals for garbage collection has sparked a heated controversy in Guadalupe, pitting animal rights groups against cart drivers who see their way of life threatened.

A conflict with deep social, economic, and ethical roots has erupted in the municipality of Guadalupe. The Nuevo León Ministry of the Environment has definitively halted the use of horses, donkeys, and other draft animals by "carretoneros" (cart drivers) to collect garbage, a measure that seeks to eradicate animal abuse but, at the same time, jeopardizes the livelihoods of hundreds of families.

The ban is not new, but its recent implementation has sparked debate and led cart drivers to speak out, creating a polarization in public opinion in Nuevo León.

The position of the authorities and animal rights groups is clear: the practice, in many cases, constitutes an act of cruelty. The Ministry of the Environment has documented and acted in cases of abuse, rescuing horses from deplorable conditions.

The arguments against the cart drivers focus on:

• Animal Conditions: Long hours in the sun, excessive loads, lack of adequate food, water, and veterinary care.
• Road Safety: The presence of carts on high-speed roads poses a risk to both animals and drivers.
• Public Health: Informal waste management creates sources of infection and contamination in public spaces.

"The use of horses, donkeys, or other animals to transport garbage to landfills is strictly prohibited. We seek to contribute with concrete actions to eliminate animal abuse and ensure that there are not a single horse on the streets." – Position of the authority.

On the other side of the coin are the cart drivers, many of whom have dedicated their entire lives to this trade, inherited from previous generations. For them, the horse is not just a tool; it's their capital and their only means of bringing food home.

Their demands are direct and desperate:

• Lack of Alternatives: They claim they have not been offered a fair transition or a viable employment alternative.
• Lost Investment: They argue that they invested money in the purchase and maintenance of their animals and vehicles.
• Demand for Compensation: Their position is firm: if the government wants to take their animals, it must compensate them financially.

"It cost us a lot to acquire our animals. If they want them, they should pay for them. It's our job, this is how we make a living." – Armando Cázares, elderly cart driver.

This social conflict also has an underlying political dispute between the state government (Movimiento Ciudadano) and the opposition-governed municipalities (PRI-PAN), as is the case in Guadalupe. The cart drivers have been caught in the middle of this conflict, as evidenced by protests against the closure of garbage transfer plants, where they claimed to be the most affected by decisions in which they have no say.

The government has attempted to implement programs to replace carts with motorcycles, but adoption has been limited. The key, according to the authorities themselves, is for cart drivers to "have the will to migrate," a will that is difficult to achieve when they feel their way of life is being taken away from them without a clear solution.

The dilemma of the cart drivers in Guadalupe is a microcosm of a larger challenge: how can we move toward a more just society for animals without leaving the most vulnerable behind?