Bolsonaro meets striking Brazil truckers as police clear blockades
SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro met on Thursday with allied truckers leading pro-government protests on highways across the country, as police cleared blockades that threatened key grain and beef export routes.
Stirred up by the farright leader’s call to action against the Supreme Court at political rallies on Tuesday, the truck blockades gained steam on Wednesday as Bolsonaro was slow to push back against a key segment of supporters.
But in their meeting, Bolsonaro did not ask the truckers to end the protests, according to a leader who met with the president.
Neither were high fuel prices, a constant truck driver complaint, discussed with Bolsonaro, truck driver Francisco Burgardt said.
“We are mobilized for liberty and the freedom of expression,” he told reporters, repeating Bolsonaro’s claims against Supreme Court decisions.
Burgardt said the truckers would only free the highways if they were received by the head of Brazil’s Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, who last week refused an unprecedented request by Bolsonaro to impeach a Supreme Court justice.
By Thursday afternoon, the federal highway police said it had cleared all blockades, but there was still congestion from the protests on federal highways in 13 states.
Grains traders said the blockades had not disrupted exports, but soy growers said shortages of inputs would push up their costs and the protests could delay crop harvesting if they did not end soon.