In Bolsonaro's Stronghold, the Metalworkers Union Fights for Survival

[Judi Lynn]

Metalworkers union leaders Paulo Rauner and Andrea Ferreira Costa hand out ant-Bolsonaro literature outside of their Trox plant in Curitiba, Brasil (Mike Elk)
BY: MIKE ELK OCTOBER 21, 2022

CURITIBA, BRASIL – “You never used to see flags like this,” says Renault worker Paulo Pissinini, my guide in Curitiba as he drives down one of the wealthiest boulevards in Curitiba, pointing to nearly two dozen Brazilian flags hanging from people’s balconies. “Brazil is not like the United States where everyone puts a flag outside of their house. You used to only see flags like these during the World Cup.”

Presidential candidate Bolsonaro has asked his supporters to fly Brazilian flags as a sign of support for him, and hardly any place in the country shows more flags than in Curitiba.

“It’s a shame, the flag used to belong to all Brazilians, but now it’s a sign of fascism,” says Pissinini as we drive out to the Renault car factory where he plans to hand out anti-Bolsonaro literature.

Curitiba is the largest city in the South of Brazil, and it’s also one of the whitest and wealthiest cities in Brazil as its residents descended mainly from Italian and German immigrants, with just 13.5% identifying as Afro-Brazilian in a country where 56% of the population identify as Afro-Brazilian.

More:
https://paydayreport.com/in-bolsonaros-stronghold-the-metalworkers-union-fights-for-survival/