A nationwide truckers strike in Brazil (GM Jan. 29, p. 1) never materialized on Monday, Feb. 1, according to Bloomberg, citing the Federal Highway Police. Traffic was normal in the main Brazilian states, including Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Parana, and Rio Grande do Sul. Representatives from the agriculture sector said there was no sign of stoppages.
In Sao Paulo, a court decision prevented truckers from blocking a key road in the state, according to Jose Roberto Stringasci, President of a national association representing independent truckers. He said the association’s lawyers tried to reverse the court’s decision.
The increase in diesel prices was one of the truckers’ complaints. Over the previous weekend Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro asked truck drivers not to strike, saying a reduction in taxes on diesel could cost the country billions.
A tax cut on diesel won’t make a difference, though, as “the diesel price is rising constantly. We want the end of fuel import parity” by state-owned oil company Petrobras, Stringasci said.
Truckers’ leaders are again asking for minimum freight prices, which was a request during a strike in 2018. That year, truckers blocked key highways and paralyzed the country in a matter of days, disrupting food, fuel, and other cargo in major cities. The leaders of the 2018 strike didn’t support a stoppage this time, according to local media reports.
President Bolsonaro on Feb. 4 thanked the truckers for not striking and promised that trucker issues would be addressed at a government meeting on Feb. 5.