Austerity anger boils over
Nationwide strikes led by Brazilian unions to protest President Michel Temer’s austerity measures have hobbled public transport in several major cities and closed schools, car factories, banks and other businesses across the country.
Police clashed with demonstrators in several cities yesterday, firing tear gas in efforts to clear roads blocked by burning barricades. Protesters also obstructed the entrances of airports and metro stations.
Temer’s efforts to push through pension reforms have deeply angered many Brazilians. The proposed legislation would for the first time set a minimum age for retirement, compelling many employees to work more years to receive a pension and reduce payouts in a country where many workers retire with full benefits in their 50s.
Also stirring unrest is a bill approved by the lower house of Congress this week to weaken labour laws by relaxing restrictions on outsourcing and temporary contracts.
The government argues that the economic reforms are needed to pull Brazil out of its worst recession on record, slash a swelling budget deficit, reduce record unemployment and modernise the economy.
The strike has had a large impact on car production in Sao Paulo, which hosts the bulk of the industry in Brazil. General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG halted production, but Fiat Chrysler said it was operating normally.
Union officials said most workers at state-run oil producer Petrobras joined the strike, but the company said the stoppage had had no significant impact on output.
‘‘It is important for us to send a message to the government that the country is paying attention to what they are doing, taking away workers’ rights,’’ said Marco Clemente, head of the 4000-strong radio and TV workers union in the capital, Brasilia, as he led a picket line outside the headquarters of state broadcaster EBC.
Temer criticised the violent clashes during the strike but said his government would press ahead with its agenda of reforms.
‘‘The work to modernise the country’s laws will continue,’’ he said.
In one the largest demonstrations, thousands of protesters gathered in front Rio de Janeiro’s state assembly and fought pitched battles with police who tried to remove them.
Hundreds of protesters massed on a major avenue in Sao Paulo, where police told shopkeepers to close early.
Some protesters set up barricades and started fires in the streets, including on roads heading to the main airports in Sao Paulo. In Rio, protesters created confusion by running through Santos Dumont Airport, and others blocked a major road.
Some plane mechanics
Brazilian President Michel Temer
joined The work to modernise the country’s laws will continue. the strike, according to the National Aeronautic Union, but the impact was minimal, with only a handful of flights cancelled or delayed at the two cities’ airports.
‘‘We are demanding our rights, as workers, because the president of the country proposed a law for people to work more and live less, so you will only receive your pension when you die,’’ said Edgar Fernandes, a dock worker who was protesting in Rio.
The CUT union said around 35 million Brazilians didn’t show up for work yesterday, more than onethird of the working population. But the government downplayed the strike, insisting that many Brazilians were still at work.
‘‘We don’t have a strike, we have widespread riots,’’ Justice Minister Osmar Serraglio said.
Temer has argued that the proposed changes will benefit Brazilians in the long run. But with so many out of work, many feel they can ill afford any cuts to their benefits.
The anger over the proposed changes to benefits showed that Temer’s government had failed to convince the people that the moves were necessary, said Oliver Stuenkel, who teaches international relations at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas university in Sao Paulo. However, the proposed laws had been moving fairly easily through Congress and were expected to eventually pass.
‘‘This is a peculiar government that has low approval and still gets work done in Congress,’’ he said. ‘‘But lawmakers also think of their re-elections next year. After today, there could be a bigger risk for Temer.’’