Brazil’s General Strike Didn’t Stop the Country and Brought Little Damage

Brazil went through Friday’s general strike, the second of its kind called for by labor unions against the economic reforms President Michel Temer intends to bring about, with business nearly unaffected in major cities, Brasília excluded.

Temer’s personal involvement in alleged cases of corruption seemed to have had little or no impact on the workers’ decision.

Without support from the transport unions in São Paulo, the country’s most populous and industrialized state, and Rio de Janeiro, the strike failed to achieve its goals.

Neither the political earthquake unleashed since last May, nor the controversial economic reforms undertaken by the Executive managed to bring the country to a complete stop.

The previous general strike since Temer took office was on April 28.

However, the strike did hit some targets in Brasília, where the protest was felt with greater intensity, as there were no bus or underground services available.

In the morning, groups of strikers blocked access to some of the country’s major cities with barricades that they set ablaze.

Later, there were mobilizations in the country’s 27 states to protest, in a peaceful way, against the liberal-led reform package of reforms which includes tough fiscal adjustments and changes to labor laws particularly regarding wage bargaining, and pensions.

In São Paulo, protesters burned a giant duck on Avenida Paulista in the financial heart of the city. The yellow duck has become the symbol of the highly-influential Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp).

The reform package, praised by employers and strongly criticized by unions, has been put on stand-by in Congress since the scandal that threatens Temer’s continuity in power.

The president, who has reiterated that he will exercise his mandate to its last day on January 1, 2019, is also under investigation for the crimes of obstruction of justice and illicit association, which could lead to new lawsuits against him.

The suspicions about Temer are based on the revelations to the Justice of several executives of the group JBS, who have pointed fingers at him saying he has accepted bribes since 2010 and they submitted audio recordings which seem to back those allegations.

Since the outbreak of the scandal, uncovered last May 17, the president has lost the support of several minority parties with parliamentary representation and even the opposition and some lawmakers of his own party have asked for his immediate resignation and hampered the process of the aforementioned reforms .

The labor reform is a step closer to entering into force and only needs to be approved by the Senate before being sanctioned by the president, while that of the pension system is paralyzed in the House of Deputies, which must also decide on whether to move forward with Temer’s impeachment, for which two-thirds of the are required.

Should the charges be pushed forward, the matter would be sent to the Supreme Court and if the judiciary too finds it appropriate to proceed, Temer would be suspended from office for 180 days.

Mercopress

Tags:

You May Also Like

The pandemic blew up some carefully constructed 'polycules.' Bilyana Stoyanovska/EyeEm via Getty Images

It Isn’t Easy Being a Polyamorous in These Times of Pandemic

A few years ago I started conducting interviews with over 100 people about their ...

Jair Bolsonaro and Narendra Modi shake hands at a 2020 meeting

How the Populist Leaders of Brazil and India Made Their Countries World Champions of Covid

India recently pushed Brazil out of the media spotlight with its surge in coronavirus ...

The US New Fancy Transformational Diplomacy Gives Top Status to Brazil

Through implementation of her "Transformational Diplomacy" initiative, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has ...

Are political troubles brewing under the surface in Brazil?

Political attention may be focused on who will be the next president of the ...

Lula speaks in Porto Alegre

Sentenced to 12 Years in Jail, Lula Says Only Death Will Take Him Out of Politics

A Brazilian appeals court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by former Brazilian President Luiz ...

Brazil’s Veja Mimics Newsweek and Offers a Grotesque Cover of Ex-president Lula

The latest issue of the conservative Brazilian magazine Veja echoes an October 2011 Newsweek ...

President Michel Temer talks in Brasília - Beto Barata/PR

Poll Shows Brazilian President as Most Unpopular Leader Since the Dictatorship

Brazilian President Michel Temer’s popularity has plummeted down to just 3 percent, according to ...

Protest in Rio against government's reforms - Fernando Frazão/ABr

Brazilians Pour onto Streets Demanding a Halt to Reforms and the President’s Ousting

Brazilians took to the streets in a nationwide protest on Wednesday against President Michel ...

Popular protest against Lula's prison

Eager to Fix Politics, Brazil’s Justice May Be Breaking the Rule Of Law.

On January 24, a Brazilian appeals court upheld a criminal conviction against former President ...

Grading Cardoso

Although José Serra is acknowledged to have done a good job as health minister ...