In response to a question from a journalist at his regular morning press conference at the National Palace, the head of State said that, indeed, only 30 percent of the rocks purchased from Cuba contain the product, according to international standards.

However, he explained that there are not even distant losses, because the rest of the rocks, 70 percent, is sold and used in construction as gravel, so the reporter was silenced and accepted the explanation.

Lopez Obrador thanked him for the question, because he gave him the opportunity to insist on his denunciations of the United States criminal blockade against the Cuban people that affects them so much.

First, he gave a very detailed explanation of the reasons why the ballast is purchased from Cuba, and said that it is a very special stone due to its hardness, they are fine-grained silica rocks and high resistant to compression and low wear that do not exist in the Yucatan peninsula.

You have to look for it far away in Mexican territory, but even so, it is insufficient for the 1,500 kilometers of railroad that require millions of tons.

However, ballast does exist in Matanzas, Cuba, at a relatively close distance from Yucatan where it is normally extracted and not like in Mexico, which can damage archaeological sites, and at a cost that is equal to the national cost.

For all these reasons, it was decided to finally bring it, but with difficulties because Cuba is undergoing an unfair and criminal economic, commercial and financial blockade and is on a unilateral list of alleged terrorist countries, so the Cuban people cannot do commercial and economic operations in almost the entire world.

The financial system is unfair and they veto Cubans because of the unilateral willingness of the United States to put include Cuba in that list, and where is terrorism in Cuba? Lopez Obrador wondered.

Another example that he mentioned is that the ships and barges that are needed are hired, and the companies that control them begin to break agreements due to pressure from the United States that reaches that extreme of sanctions, which is really disgraceful, the Mexican president noted.

Lopez Obrador explained to the journalist again how normal the ballast performance of a rock is, which does not mean, as the reporter said, that 70 percent more is paid for the product, since the rock is used in its entirety, although as a byproduct, the gravel of the main one, which is the ballast.

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