Brazil: Pro-Bolsonaro truckers end blockade
Truckers in Brazil protesting in support of President Jair Bolsonaro have ended their three-day strike. The blockade caused paralysis on federal highways across the country.
Date 09.09.2021
Truck drivers in Brazil ended their multi-day blockade of federal highways on Thursday, after clogging roads for days in support of President Jair Bolsonaro.
The protests sparked concerns that the far-right president had lost control of some of his most ardent supporters following his inflammatory comments against the country's top court earlier this week.
What is the latest?
Semi-trucks were still heavily concentrated along roads in 13 of 27 states, but there were "no remaining blockages on the national road network," Brazil's Infrastructure Ministry said.
The move comes after Bolsonaro issued a reluctant audio message calling for them to stop.
"Tell our allies the truckers that the blockades are hurting the economy. It causes shortages, inflation it harms everyone, especially the poor," he said in a message on Wednesday.
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The truckers have assisted him in showing strength as his approval ratings slide and early polling shows him losing reelection next year.
After his incendiary words on Tuesday's holiday for Brazilian Independence Day, truckers mobilized in force, even parking among the ministries of the capital, Brasilia, with protests signs that read "Military intervention with Bolsonaro in power," and "Prison for the corrupt justices of the Supreme Court."
Not every trucker was wholly supportive of the effort, with some saying their vehicles had been sabotaged by coworkers who are supportive of Bolsonaro.
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https://www.dw.com/en/brazil-pro-bolsonaro-truckers-end-blockade/a-59137367