Truckers' Strike Continues despite Agreement; Government Believes in 'Political Infiltration'

05/29/2018 - 12h19

Despite three concessions made by the government, truck drivers continued to demonstrate on Tuesday (the 29th) for the ninth consecutive day, affecting gas stations and services across the entire country.

According to an official report, 556 partial or complete blockades were implemented on federal highways in 23 states and in the Federal District. The movement has also received support from drivers belonging to other sectors who have also been affected by gas prices, such as van, charter bus and motorcycle drivers.

When confronted with the continuation of the demonstrations, Eliseu Padilha, the chief of staff to President Michel Temer, said that the Federal Highway Police will take action in order to remove "political infiltrators" from the highway. According to him, such demonstrators do not want the gasoline shortage - nor the crisis that has ensued - to come to an end.

The president of the Brazilian Association of Truck Drivers (Abcam), José da Fonseca Lopes, who was one of the leaders behind the demonstration, agreed with Mr. Padilha's assessment. "Truck drivers are no longer on strike. These are people who want to overthrow the government."

	Pedro Ladeira/Folhapress
	Demonstrators protest in front of the Planalto Palace

Many are confounded by the pricing policy of state-run oil company Petrobras, which has readjusted rates on a daily basis since July of last year and has raised the price of diesel sold at gas stations by nearly 30%.

"What we want now is for Temer to stand down. We are only going to clear the highways after the fall of the government," said driver Moisés Fernandes dos Santos, who has been transporting furniture from Ubá (Minas Gerais) to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro for 15 years.

As for President Michel Temer (MDB), he said that the crisis will end soon, "God willing".

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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