On Wednesday, truck drivers blocked some roads in Brazil to support far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who asked the population to support his proposal to remove the Supreme Court justices.
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Through social networks, many of the promoters of the protest confirmed that the dismissal of the justices is one of the conditions to end the demonstrations and blockades. Besides attacking the Judiciary, some Bolsonaro's supporters also demanded the dissolution of Congress.
The Federal Highway Police (PRF) confirmed that there were 117 blockades in 14 out of 27 states of the country. The intensity of the blockades was not homogeneous: in some cases there has been only a concentration of people, in others the roads have been completely blocked.
According to the Infrastructure Ministry, which monitors the strikes of the sector, blockade points were registered in in states such as Bahia, Espirito Santo, Mato Grosso Mato Grosso do Sul, Santa Catarina, Parana, and Maranhao. In Santa Catarina, the mobilization even threatened the passage of food, hence the PRF had to intervene.
The truckers' demonstration follows the climate of tension magnified during this week by Bolsonaro. The strike began just over 24 hours after he harshly attacked the Supreme Court and the electronic voting system in Brazil.
On Wednesday evening, however, Bolsonaro asked his supporters to demobilize the protests, arguing that the demonstration could increase inflation and worsen the already fragile economic situation. Moreover, the crisis could be reflected in the President's popularity ratings, which are already quite low.
"Speaking to the truckers out there, who are our allies, these blockades hurt our economy," said the leader of the Brazilian far-right to curb a situation that already seems out of control.