Brazil reinstates fuel subsidies after a disruptive lorry strike
The work stoppage may have cost as much as $13.5bn
AT RUSH hour, driving across São Paulo can take two hours. This week, however, taxis zipped from one district to another on eerily empty streets in just a few minutes—those that still had fuel to burn. On May 21st hundreds of thousands of Brazilian lorry drivers started a strike, halting deliveries of food and petrol, grounding flights and costing as much as 50bn reais ($13.5bn), or 0.8% of GDP. Poultry producers said that 64m birds have starved as a result, and the stockmarket has fallen by 6.2%. One distribution centre for farm products that usually registers 1,500-2,000 shipments a day reported only 115. A vegetable vendor hired cabs to deliver lettuce; onions fetched five times the normal price.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Strike against the system”
More from The Americas
Canada has adopted assisted dying faster than anywhere on Earth
The province of Quebec now allows those with deteriorating illnesses to request an assisted death in advance
Tether’s move to El Salvador is a win for President Nayib Bukele
Why the stablecoin firm has picked the Central American country for its headquarters
From Greenland to Panama and Mexico, leaders are in shock
As Donald Trump eyes fine new pieces of real estate in the Americas and beyond
Canada and America have been fighting about timber for 40 years
As Donald Trump takes office, the chances of a lumber deal look slim
Justin Trudeau steps down, leaving a wrecked party and a divided Canada
Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland are among those tipped as the next Liberal leader
Does made in Mexico mean made by China?
Donald Trump believes Mexico is a trojan horse for Chinese mercantilism