Fuerza del Norte union rejects fuel freeze, seeks 120 days in Chile
Key Facts
Chile’s Confederación Fuerza del Norte road transport union rejected the government’s proposal to freeze fuel prices and said the strike it called would continue indefinitely, Pauta reported on Nov. 12, 2026. The union called for prices to be frozen for 120 days and for the specific fuel tax to be cut. Its position followed the government’s announcement of a freeze until Feb. 3, 2027, as ENAP raised diesel prices by 41.9 pesos per liter effective Nov. 12. Prices for 93- and 97-octane gasoline also rose by 38.7 pesos per liter in the same adjustment. The dispute puts the duration and terms of the freeze at the center of the standoff between the government and strikers, while expanding action threatens to disrupt the arrival of shipments at ports.
Alongside the proposed freeze, the government announced an extension through December 2027 of the benefit allowing shipping companies to recover part of the specific tax on diesel, according to Pauta. Even so, Fuerza del Norte rejected the offer, holding to its demand for a longer price freeze and a tax cut. The union said it was seeking a 120-day freeze, longer than the period set by the government through Feb. 3, 2027. The dispute coincides with the increase that took effect on Nov. 12, covering diesel and the two grades of gasoline cited above. On Nov. 4, an economist with the CNDC union said the MEPCO fuel price stabilization mechanism was subsidizing diesel by about 260 pesos per liter, describing that figure as the difference between diesel’s base value and what consumers pay, Emol reported. This shows that debate over fuel costs is unfolding alongside existing support and tax mechanisms that transport companies want changed.
Fuerza del Norte is the party that called the strike, while the two largest trucking unions, CNTC and CNDC, remained outside the action. Their leaders were scheduled to meet Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado at La Moneda Palace at 9:00 a.m. on Nov. 12, according to Pauta. Radio ADN reported that representatives of the two unions met with the government but had not joined the strike by that time. CNTC President Sergio Pérez said his union’s members had mandated him to reach a solution and restore normal operations. This divergence among the unions makes the scale of strike participation an important factor in determining the extent of pressure on transport. It also opens a separate negotiating track between the government and the major unions, alongside Fuerza del Norte’s continuing demands.
The action spread to other sectors and regions on Nov. 12: Fedequinta, which represents carriers in the Valparaíso Region, announced it would join the open-ended mobilization, and independent bus drivers in the Biobío Region also said they would take part, according to Pauta. Fedequinta said it would organize actions at points along Routes 68 and 78 and in areas serving the ports of Valparaíso and San Antonio. Its demands included freezing diesel prices for 120 days. These locations make the action more significant for freight traffic given their links to port gateways. The concerns cited in coverage center on Chilean cherry shipments bound for Asia as the export season begins. Coverage did not report that exports had already been disrupted, but pointed to concerns about delays and risks to access to the ports of Valparaíso and San Antonio.
Against the backdrop of tensions, the head of the striking union said some trucks stopped on the roads were not there to block them, but because their operators could not afford to keep working, BioBioChile reported on Nov. 11. The outlet quoted him as saying: "The trucks stopped on the road are stopped because we don’t have the money to keep working." On Nov. 12, the government said the price freeze would be assessed in light of international price movements, according to Radio ADN. It also warned that road closures could lead to the application of the State Security Law. The warning adds constraints to the course of the protest by tying the authorities’ response to the possibility of road disruption. At the same time, the core of the dispute between the government and Fuerza del Norte remains the duration of the price freeze and the specific fuel tax.
The government said the price increase could be reversed the following week if Congress passed the bill and it was promulgated by Tuesday, according to Pauta. This timetable makes implementation dependent on legislative approval and promulgation, rather than taking effect immediately upon announcement. Meanwhile, Fuerza del Norte continues its strike indefinitely, seeking a longer freeze than the government has offered. Sources did not specify the outcome of the major unions’ meeting with the interior minister or whether those unions would change their position on the strike. Concerns about delays to cherry shipments also remain tied to how the action develops near roads leading to the ports. The next steps depend on the bill’s progress and the parties’ positions on the terms of the freeze.