XPost: 24hoursupport.helpdesk, alt.politics.scorched-earth, uk.politics.misc   
   XPost: uk.legal, alt.politics.uk   
   From: burfordTjustice@tues.uk   
      
   The strike was to protest major changes to labor law and the pension   
   system being considered by Congress, but it was also a raw display of   
   anger by many Brazilians fed up with corruption and worried about the   
   future amid a deep recession and rising unemployment.   
      
      
      
      
   Protesters torch buses, block roads during Brazil strike   
      
   RIO DE JANEIRO –  Protesters lit buses on fire, blocked roads and   
   clashed with police on Friday during a general strike that brought   
   transportation to a halt in many cities across Latin America's largest   
   nation.   
      
   The strike was to protest major changes to labor law and the pension system   
   being considered by Congress, but it was also a raw display of anger by many   
   Brazilians fed up with corruption and worried about the future amid a deep   
   recession and rising    
   unemployment.   
      
   In Rio de Janeiro, after hours of clashes with police in front of the   
   legislative building, several buses were torched. In Sao Paulo, thousands   
   marched toward the home of President Michel Temer, throwing rocks at police   
   who shot stun grenades when    
   protesters tried to go beyond barriers set up.   
      
   Millions stayed home, either in support of the strike or simply because they   
   were unable to get to work. The tens of thousands who took to the street   
   raised questions about whether Temer will be able to push his proposals   
   through Congress, where they had    
   previously looked likely to pass.   
      
   Temer's administration argues that more flexible labor rules will revive a   
   moribund economy and warns the pension system will go bankrupt without   
   changes. Unions and other groups called for the strike, saying the changes   
   before Congress will make workers    
   too vulnerable and strip away too many benefits.   
      
   In a statement Friday night, Temer characterized the protesters as "small   
   groups" that blocked the roads and streets. He said his administration was   
   working to help Brazilians workers overcome the country's economic malaise.   
      
   Earlier in the day, most commuter trains and metro lines were stopped in Sao   
   Paulo during the height of morning commute, and all buses stayed off the   
   roads. Buses ran partial service during the morning in Rio but later began   
   returning to normal. The    
   metro was closed for the day in the capital of Brasilia.   
      
   Some protesters also set up barricades and started fires in the streets,   
   including on roads heading to the main airports in Sao Paulo. In Rio,   
   protesters created confusion by running through Santos Dumont Airport, and   
   others blocked a major road.   
      
   Some plane mechanics joined the strike, according to the National Aeronautic   
   Union, but the impact was minimal, with only a handful of flights canceled or   
   delayed at the two cities' airports.   
      
   "We are demanding our rights, as workers, because the president of the country   
   proposed a law for people to work more and live less, so you will only receive   
   your pension when you die," said Edgar Fernandes, a dock worker who was   
   protesting in Rio.   
      
   The CUT union said around 35 million Brazilians didn't show up for work on   
   Friday, more than one-third of the working population. But government   
   officials downplayed the strike, insisting that many Brazilians were still at   
   work.   
      
   "We don't have a strike, we have widespread riots," Justice Minister Osmar   
   Serraglio said on Joven Pam radio.   
      
   Brazil's economy is in a deep recession, and many Brazilians are frustrated   
   with Temer's government. Temer, whose approval ratings are hovering around 10   
   percent, has argued the proposed changes will benefit Brazilians in the long   
   run. But with so many    
   out of work, many feel they can ill afford any cuts to their benefits.   
      
   Meanwhile, the country is mired in a colossal scandal involving billions of   
   dollars in kickbacks to politicians and other public officials. Over the last   
   three years, dozens of top politicians and businessmen have been jailed in the   
   so-called Car Wash    
   investigation that has produced near daily revelations of wrongdoing.   
      
   Scores of sitting politicians, including Temer himself and several of his   
   ministers, have been implicated. Temer denies wrongdoing.   
      
   In one the largest demonstrations Friday, thousands of protesters gathered in   
   front Rio de Janeiro's state assembly in the afternoon and were fighting   
   pitched battles with police who tried to remove them. Police fired tear gas   
   while protesters threw    
   stones and lit small fires in the middle of streets.   
      
   In Sao Paulo, police told downtown shopkeepers to close early, apparently out   
   of concern that protesters might head there. Throughout the day, 21 people   
   were arrested in Sao Paulo, according to military police.   
      
   Underscoring the economic malaise, the IBGE statistics agency announced on   
   Friday that unemployment had jumped to 13.7 percent in the first quarter of   
   the year, up from 12 percent.   
      
   The anger over the proposed changes to benefits shows that Temer's government   
   has failed to convince the people that the moves are necessary, said Oliver   
   Stuenkel, who teaches international relations at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas   
   university in Sao Paulo.   
    And yet, the proposed laws have been moving fairly easily through Congress,   
   and had been expected to eventually pass.   
      
   "This is a peculiar government that has low approval and still gets work done   
   in Congress," he said. "But lawmakers also think of their re-elections next   
   year. After today, there could be a bigger risk for Temer in getting any   
   meaningful bills passed."   
      
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