Strike over fuel prices in Brazil begins to cause severe shortages

Several states and cities in Brazil are already facing shortages of food and fuel because of a transportation company owners and workers strike that started in late February to demand the government a fuel price reduction by means of lowering taxes.

According to a report published in Valor Economico on February 24, government officials and transportation unions had yet to agree a meeting to discuss an end to the stoppage and protests which have included road blockades.

In Parana, for example, not only fuel prices have soared in some stations because of the shortages but the lack of enough fuel is threatening the entire agro-industry as blockades of roads which are part of the strike are preventing deliveries of all supplies including fodder for animals, reports from the area said.

In the region of Mato Grosso several fuel stations and distributors have run out of diesel for several days, reports from the area said. The impossibility to travel, as transportation workers have blockaded many highways, forced Fiat to give days off to 6,000 workers as was impossible for them to get to the factory because transportation workers in strike have parked their trucks in roads to prevent transit, myriad images in the country newspapers show.

A total of 11 states in Brazil are affected by the strikes.