Brazil – Military To Clear Roads Of Protesting Truckers

Protesting truck drivers that brought Latin America's biggest economy to its knees in objection to rising fuel costs will be met by the military today as the government ordered the army to clear the major roads.

Brazil's President Michel Temer stated he no longer had a choice as the five consecutive days of trucker blockades had led to absolute chaos all over Brazil.

Prices of fruit and vegetables had doubled in supermarkets due to scarcity, airports had cancelled flights (the international airport in the capital Brasilia cancelled some 30 flights) due to fuel shortage and panicked consumers emptied shelves of supermarkets whilst they were limited to five items each.

Related coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/27035-Brazil-Truckers-Strike-Leads-To-Fuel-Food-Shortages-Video

The deal that had been struck with the truckers on Thursday was being blocked by one major union who vowed to continue striking till the government would meet all their demands.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Brazil authorizes army to clear trucker protest | Article [AMP] | Reuters <a href="https://t.co/xJ6tdeuqIM">https://t.co/xJ6tdeuqIM</a> <a href="https://t.co/kmrehgPKTn">pic.twitter.com/kmrehgPKTn</a></p>&mdash; Hermes Magnus (@hfmagnus5) <a href="https://twitter.com/hfmagnus5/status/1000089888786657282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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President Michel Temer claimed: "We accepted the 12 main demands of the truckers, who agreed to immediately end the blockades. Unfortunately, a radical minority continues to block the roads."

Related coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/26005-Brazil-Armed-Gunman-Thought-It-Would-Be-Easy-Robbing-Sao-Paolo-Mothers-At-School-Gate-Video

The truckers were infuriated by the Temer’s order to call in the army, stating that "the government's decision to use the army as an instrument of repression" is like "trying to use gasoline to put out a fire."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Brazil&#39;s government authorized the military on Friday to clear highways blockaded by protesting truckers, a government official said, after the nationwide protests entered a fifth day despite an agreement by most participants to end the demonstrations. <a href="https://t.co/2UIakdo4OS">https://t.co/2UIakdo4OS</a></p>&mdash; Successful Farming (@SuccessfulFarm) <a href="https://twitter.com/SuccessfulFarm/status/1000077838790340608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The Abcam union, the biggest truck driver’s association supporting the strikes, stated it was fearful for the safety of its drivers with the army being called and therefore vowed they would end the blockade.

Meanwhile economic experts and international investors fear for the finances of the South American country should the strikes continue as Brazil is still fragile in its recovery from its 2015-2016 recession.

Source:

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