Truck strike enters 7th day, crimps Brazil's fuel, food supplies

Feb 24 (Reuters) - A growing protest by Brazilian truck drivers against high fuel prices entered a seventh day on Tuesday, interrupting supplies of diesel and food across several commodity-rich states at the start of harvest season.
The protests are part of a reaction to the return of fuel taxes, one of several unpopular measures that President Dilma Rousseff is counting on to shore up government fiscal accounts.
The spontaneous spread of the demonstrations without organized help from unions has complicated state and federal government efforts to negotiate with the protesters. So far, isolated attempts by the government have not been fruitful in meeting their demands.
"There is no sign the blockage in Sorriso (Mato Grosso) and the other towns in the state is ending," said a representative for Rota do Oeste, the consortium that operates the BR 163 highway on Tuesday. "Trucks are not getting through."
Truckers started restricting the flow of goods along BR 163, the main highway running through top soybean-producing state Mato Grosso, on Feb. 18 but the demonstrations quickly spread and spilled into as many as six states by Monday, including Minas Gerais, Parana, Goias and Rio Grande do Sul.
A ragtag group of smaller logistics companies and independent truckers have called for state and federal relief in diesel and toll prices, which protesters say are squeezing their profits.
A 15-centavo-per-liter ($0.20/gallon) increase in diesel taxes took effect on Feb. 1. Over the past week, the price of diesel has averaged 3.06 reais a liter ($4.15/gallon) in Mato Grosso, according to the National Petroleum Agency.
Truckers have crammed into roadside stops, grassy medians and along shoulders of roads leading in and out of towns across the center-south farm belt. They are allowing cars and public transport to pass but have clamped down on truck movement.
In some smaller towns, there is a shortage of diesel oil for farm equipment, the fuel distribution association Sindicom said, and farmers are concerned they will run out of the fuel used to harvest maturing grain crops. Harvest in parts of Mato Grosso has already stopped because there is not enough fuel.
Brazil is the world's leading supplier of sugar, coffee, orange juice, beef, poultry and soybeans. So far, ports have been able to fill arriving ships but may soon run out of stocks if the strike continues much longer, traders said.
Brazil's BRF SA, the world's biggest chicken exporter, said production at two of its factories in Parana had stopped due to lack of raw materials blocked by the protest. ($1=2.86 reais) (Additional reporting by Reese Ewing in Sao Paulo; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe).

 

[h=1]Government Seeks Resolution to Brazilian Truckers Strike[/h]
Truck drivers are blocking roads in a number of Brazilian states to protest the high cost of fuel and tolls.

Brazilian truck drivers continue to stage roadblocks throughout the country to protest high fuel and toll prices, road quality and changes to rules governing trucking.
The protest, which started a week ago in the city of Lucas do Rio Verde, Mato Grosso state, has expanded to 12 states and is causing severe disruption to road transportation and the delivery of food supplies and goods, including perishables such as beef, chicken, and grains.
Brazil's truck drivers' associations have said that the fuel and road toll increases coincide with sluggish global demand for commodities which has caused the tariffs they charge to fall by as much as 25 percent.
In response to the strikes, Brazilian government officials met with transport leaders Tuesday in order to resolve the ongoing conflict.
"We have sought and developed a permanent dialogue and relationship with truckers who provide an important service to our country," Brazilian Trade Minister Armando Monteiro Neto said.
National labour union CUT weighed in Tuesday afternoon saying the government was willing to negotiate and recommended truckers and transport firms suspend the strike.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, highway operator Ecovias said via Twitter that the protest on the Anchieta Highway leading to Brazil's Port of Santos, Latin America's largest port, had concluded and all lanes were cleared...."

NO! Truckers just moved their trucks and blocked other highways... the problem is getting worse... affecting distribution of food, milk, fuel, hospital materials and everything else... Milk producers are throwing milk away because they can't have it delivered...


[h=1]Massive Strike In Brazil: Truckers and Protesters Shut Down Several Major Roadways[/h]
[video=youtube_share;lo4ZnipMU0o]http://youtu.be/lo4ZnipMU0o?t=1m[/video]

[video=youtube_share;sncPCUl55YU]http://youtu.be/sncPCUl55YU?t=1m28s[/video]

[video=youtube_share;f3R_VsNqKKg]http://youtu.be/f3R_VsNqKKg?t=54s[/video]

 

Despite of use of police force, tear gas against demonstrators...



and threats of a fee of R$ 10,000.00 per day to those blocking the highways...




truck drivers are not giving up and this movement is gaining support from the public from southern towns, some farm producers and others from the transportation industry.




Seems this movement is growing nationwide

 

Last update on the strike:

Truckers ' strike increases again and reaches 6 States Read more here... (Sorry but it's all in Portuguese)


Summary of strike

• Blocks on roads cause delays and reduce movement in Ceagesp
  
• Truckers keep standstill even after announcement of government agreement with some demands
  
• Although R$ 10,000 / hour penalty , truckers remain on strike in 6 States
  
• On Sunday, protesters blocked roads in RS and SC
  

Government was not "prepared" for dealing with this strike... Government knew the strike was eminent but didn't believe... and underestimated the power of mobilization of strikers...

 

Last info from Comando Nacional do Transporte is that lots of trucks have arrived in Brasilia (Brasil's federal capital) and are stationed nearby the Palacio do Planalto (similar to White House), waiting for other drivers who are in route...




...they are planning their strategy for surrounding the Palacio do Planalto tomorrow in protest, playing their horns and pressure the government to agree with their demands...

 

TV Globo, "strongest" tv channel in Brasil reported that government had agreed to all truckers' demands.... except lower diesel prices... THAT'S A FREAKING LIE!

Half "promises" written in sand... most of them will be discussed next Tuesday during another meeting in Brasilia... But that will not change much...

There were some trucks in Brasilia, yes... 60 according to the media... They did get permission to park nearby the Congress...
They did drive around the Palacio do Planalto playing their horns after meeting between Minister Miguel Rossetto (Secretaria Geral) and some truckers' representatives... and that was reported as a celebration for the end of the movement and end of the strike...
I don't know what happened during this meeting as that was not divulged to outsiders... but the leader of the movement posted a video on their Facebook page saying he was leaving the scene and thanking all for their participation... including union members... saying he learned a lot in just a few days and it was time for him to go and let others take charge...
During this meeting, truckers' representatives agreed to end their blockade all over the country... and will work on their list of demands to be discussed this coming Tuesday, March/10th.

The only article I found about this... Sorry it's all in Portuguese... but it can be translated with Google translator... just copy and paste...
"Caminhoneiros celebram fim do movimento grevista com "buzinaço" no Congresso


Mesa de negociações com o governo será permanente e próximo encontro está marcado para terça-feira"



This video shows a very frustrated and upset trucker unmasking government about the end of the strike... Unfortunately, the video is in Portuguese with no English subtitles...

[video=youtube_share;UcZX3wmCays]http://youtu.be/UcZX3wmCays?t=2m44s[/video]

The end of this strike doesn't mean that problems were solved... Truckers are bankrupted, they can't work under conditions... I think this is not over... yet...