11 roads blocked and no public transport services in many cities are the first results of the so called «National Struggle Day» called by Brazilian unions for today.
Carrying unions and left-wing parties’ flags, protesters blocked highways across five Brazilian states such as the Via Dutra, Brazil’s most important highway that connects the cities of Rio de Janeiro and San Pablo.
Access to the Santos port, the country’s main ocean port, was also barred.
The stevedores at Santos had already held a six-hour protest on Wednesday, holding up some 13 container ships but not affecting bulk cargo shipments like soybeans and corn. The Santos port authority did not yet have information on shipments affected by Thursday’s stoppage. Local television showed protesters blocking the entrance to Santos, preventing trucks from entering.
Although a court ruling ordered the normal operation of public transport in Rio and San Pablo, the cities of Porto Alegre, Vitoria, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Manaos and Santos woke up earlier this morning with no public bus services.
The so called “National Struggle Day” has been set to demand for improvements in Brazil’s public services and ratify working class vindications following the wave of protests that shaken the South American giant in June.
Main slogans involve the reduction of work week to 40 hours, the modification of the current legislation that cuts early retirement pensions and the suspension of a bill that plans to broaden outsourcing.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald