GUATEMALA CITY, March 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Guatemala's government vowed on Wednesday not to back down in the face of violent demonstrations over a new law forcing vehicle owners to take out insurance.

The Central American country has been convulsed by two days of protests over the new law which was published on Monday and comes into effect on May 1.

About 30 roads have been blocked by protesters nationwide.

Under the new legislation, owners of cars, trucks, motorbikes and other motorized vehicles must take out insurance to cover harm they cause to others in the event of an accident.

On Wednesday, police used tear gas on protesters, who had pelted them with stones and other objects in the capital's historical center.

The government says the reforms are necessary to compensate victims of road accidents and their families.

On February 10, 54 people were killed when a bus collided with several small vehicles and plunged into a ravine in Guatemala City, the nation's capital.

"Road accidents are the main cause of death in the country, far more than crime," a spokesman for the presidency told reporters, calling the deaths a "national tragedy" that "must change."

Opponents of the law say many motorists, including taxi drivers, cannot afford to buy car insurance in Guatemala, where 60 percent of the population of 17.1 million lives in poverty.

The government held talks Wednesday with protest organizers in a bid to have the roadblocks lifted.