Brazil truck strike enters fourth day

[sandensea]

Brazil’s nationwide trucking strike entered its fourth day Thursday, disrupting the country’s already weak economy and threatening to leave many gas stations and some airports around the country without fuel supplies.

Truckers and other transport workers are striking because Petrobras, the state-controlled oil company, has increased diesel prices — by over 40% — in the last six months, at the same time that the right-wing Michel Temer administration has substantially hiked fuel taxes.

The strike began Monday morning, with the Brazilian Association of Truckers demanding the government cut the tax on diesel fuel in the face of a recent price spike the union called “unsustainable.”

Brazil lacks a big railroad network, making its economy highly dependent on road transportation. The strike already has caused logistics problems around the country, leading McDonald’s to release a statement that a small number of its restaurants might run out of certain menu items.

Brazil is an agricultural powerhouse, and most of its farm produce is moved to market by trucks. Because of the strike, some dairies have had to dump milk down drains as storage has overflowed, while cattle ranchers and chicken and pig farmers say they aren’t receiving enough feed for their livestock - potentially threatening the country’s food supply.

“When truckers go on strike, the economy grinds to a halt,” said Carlos Melo, a professor at São Paulo’s Insper business school.

The strike also puts Brazil’s tenuous recovery, following a two-year recession, at risk as the supply disruptions ripple through the economy. The work stoppage has spread to at least 20 of Brazil’s 26 states and the Federal District.

At: https://www.wsj.com/articles/brazil-truck-strike-enters-fourth-day-1527182315

Brazilian truckers strike over a 40% hike in diesel prices by the Temer regime.

Appointed by a parliamentary coup in 2016, Temer has recently announced he's not running in elections this October.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Doesn't take long for a trucking strike to bring everything to a complete stop.

Had never heard that "Brazil lacks a big railroad network."

This strike could be over far sooner than anyone expects, since so much depends upon trucks on roads.

After reading what happened in Chile when Nixon's administration's plan to "make the economy scream", I realized for the first time a strike like that is deadly.

NIXON AND LATIN AMERICA: 1973 ALLENDE COUP


. . .

Ultimately there were 3 different groups that created the political, economic and social instability that in turn would lead to the military coup which would remove Allende from power:

The militant far-left. Allende was the leader of the Unidad Popular (Popular Unity or UP) party which was essentially a coalition of left-wing groups. Allende was a moderate socialist who had trouble controlling the far-left wing of his party. These factions of the UP were growing impatient with what they perceived to be the slow pace of his reforms and advocated a more radical agenda. They were greatly influenced by the Castro revolutionaries in Cuba and pushed for violent revolutionary struggle. While many of Chile's peasant and working classes ignored their calls for revolution, there were instances of workers and peasants seizing factories and land when they were dissatisfied with the extent of Allende's nationalization and land reform policies.
Chile's right-wing. Increasing allied with the Chilean military, especially as economic strife increased, they were extremely concerned by Allende's social revolution which threatened their business interests. Allende's associations with the militant far-left was also a big concern and both ends of the political spectrum antagonised the other. These groups worked with the CIA and the Nixon administration to launch truck driver strikes and create greater social unrest.
The United States. Richard Nixon had instructed the CIA to "make the [Chilean] economy scream". A key part of that was the organization of a truck drivers' strike which created massive shortages in food and other essential resources. The Nixon administration also voted against Chile receiving IMF and World Bank loans to shore up their fragile economy. The Nixon administration were not only acting out of fear that Communists would seize control in Chile, but as in Guatemala in 1954, were intervening to protect US business interests, in this case, the US-owned copper industry, which included such companies at Kennecott and Anaconda, and US telecommunications company IT&T. The US helped to undermine the Allende government by:

- Cutting of all US aid to Chile (worth about $70 million)
- Opposing the awarding of loans and credits by the IMF and World Bank
- Encouraging Kennecott and Anaconda to cut back on production, thereby disrupting the international copper market which was crucial to the Chilean economy
- Put diplomatic pressure on other Latin American countries to sever ties with Allende
- Funded the opposition groups in Chile
- Use the CIA to organize the truckers' strikes

More:
http://www.justrememberthepast.com/nixon-and-latin-america-1973-allende-coup.html

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Was the United States responsible for the 1973 Coup in Chile?
Posted July 10th, 2011 at 04:16 AM

. . .

Despite failing to prevent Allende's election to the presidency, The CIA nor the United States government stopped working against Allende. Henry Kissinger was the architect of the idea of an economic blockade of Chile. As Chile depended largely on the US dollar and US materials for its industries, The United States was able to cut loans, foreign aid, financing and materials, plunging Chile into an economic crisis.[15] President Nixon's order to “make the economy scream” was becoming a reality.[16] In August of 1972, a series of strikes began in Chile. At the head of these actions were the truck drivers. Chile had little in the way of a railway system so the vast majority of goods had to be moved by truck. The stop work action crippled the Chilean economy, stopping the delivery of food and sowing discontent amongst the population. According to a CIA intelligence bulletin, the Chilean Department of Investigation had received requests to investigate foreigners living in Chile who were manipulating the strikes.[17] It has since been discovered that the CIA were manipulating the strikes as part of the Track II plan to cripple Chile's economy.[18] The PDC was a strong supporter of the strikes and had been receiving funds from the CIA since Track I was put in place. These funds were passed onto the strikers, prolonging the strikes and bringing the Chilean economy to a halt. Striking truck drivers interviewed by Time Magazine admitted that money for food came from the CIA.[19] As a result of the strike, Allende was forced to use the military to bring an end to the strikes, reopen roads and stores who's owners had joined the truckers.[20] This hardline approach was not received well and Allende popularity fell as a result. It didn't help that the strikes had affected the planting of crops, causing a decrease of 16 percent in harvest forcing Chile to import more food, adding to the already mounting debt the country had.[21] While the CIA continued to strangle the Chilean economy, the US military continued to provide arms and armament to the Chilean military.

More:
http://historum.com/blogs/son+of+cathal/396-united-states-responsible-1973-coup-chile.html