* Curitiba - Truckers press the government to cut the diesel tax
-- Protests by truckers denouncing higher taxes on diesel fuel and low incomes spread to at least six states in Brazil over the weekend and on Monday, causing concern over potential disruptions to the flow of soybeans to ports as the country’s soy harvest is nearing its peak... Truckers blocked some highways in the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goias, Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina and Parana on Monday, according to Brazil’s Federal Highway Police. Most of the states are big producers of soybeans... Truckers demanded that the government cut the tax on diesel fuel, which the federal government increased by 0.15 real a liter on Feb. 1. They said costs have risen too quickly, and their incomes haven’t kept up... Transport groups met with representatives of the Mato Grosso state government Friday to discuss possible solutions, and the local truckers appeared satisfied with the result... Police said the blockades have backed up traffic for miles, even with passenger vehicles allowed to go through... (PHOTO: REUTERS - Federal police talk with protesting truck drivers on a highway in Curitiba, Brazil, on Monday) - Sao Paulo,SP,Brazil -Reuters, by JEFFREY T. LEWIS & Jacob Bunge -Feb. 23, 2015
* Sao Paulo - Brazil's main port of Santos reopened on truck strike's 8th day
-- Brazilian police on Wednesday dispersed striking truckers to reopen access to the country's main port of Santos but the protesters' stoppage still gripped a broad swathe of the nation where most farming and industry are concentrated... Highway operator Ecovias said via Twitter that the protest on the main Anchieta highway leading to Santos, had ended and all lanes were clear... Santos police forced truckers to clear the highway but said they were maintaining a strong presence on the road for fear that protesters planned to return Wednesday afternoon... Brazilian truck drivers have been blocking roads for eight days, in protest over high fuel and toll prices, poor road quality and changes to rules governing drivers. The protests have interrupted supplies of diesel and raw materials across the country and threatened to hold up grains exports at ports during a record harvest... Rota do Oeste, the company that runs the main highway in Brazil's leading soybean state of Mato Grosso where the trucker protest started on Feb. 18, said trucks continue parked along the shoulders in several cities of the state on Wednesday... The threat has had little effect however, as the protest spread into more than 10 of Brazil's 26 states, though some roads that were totally blocked by more aggressive strikers have been opened to the flow of traffic... Trucks breaking the strike and driving through protest points are still potential targets of vandals in the grain belt...
(Photo: Truckers block access to Brazil's port of Santos)
Santos,SP,Brazil -Reuters (UK), by Asher Levine, Reese Ewing, Marcelo Teixeira & Alison Williams, W. Simon -Feb 25, 2015Labels: strikes and protests
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