by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASÍLIA, Brazil – The city of Sao Paulo, Brazil recently saw a massive strike by union truck drivers for petroleum companies.  The drivers went on strike for almost three days in response to city officials passing new legislation that banned commercial truck’s from using main through fares during certain times of the day.

Sao Paulo is a very congested urban center with over 11 million citizens and approximately 7 million vehicles.  Throughout the city there are roughly 2,000 gas stations.  By late afternoon yesterday, nearly all those stations were running short on gasoline, and many were already closed down as they had already emptied their gas and ethanol supplies.

The truckers union stated that the new legislation unfairly targets them by limiting their access to major highways during peak hours of the day.  This then forces them to take alternative routes that increase their costs of driving and the time they spend working.  All 800 of the city’s tank truck drivers participated in the strike.

On Tuesday afternoon, a state court judge issued a ruling that the strike must end or the union would be fined an amount of $1 million reais ($566,828 US).  One of the most pressing concerns was that the strike would also shut down public transportation throughout the city.

Claudinei Pelegrini, the Vice-President of the Sao Paulo truck drivers union, enunciated the union’s goal that talks be initiated to revoke the new restrictions.  Pelegrini noted, late on Wednesday, that his members move more than 90% of all petroleum in the city.  He demanded that an agreement must be reached or else truck drivers for food and construction materials would also join the strike.

Despite enunciating these pressures, Pelegrini noted that emergency services would not be affected by the strike.  He said deliveries to airports, hospitals, police and fire stations would take place.  City officials expressed their opposition to the strike, noting that police and military escorts were being used to allow for deliveries of supplies by a few drivers not participating in the strike.

The strike stands to affect local business owners in a drastic way, even if it is successfully ended within the next few days.  NPR reports that Marcelo Fernandes, a local gas station owner, will lose roughly $15,000 in sales for each 24 hour period that his gas tanks stand empty.

“They’re killing us, the government has got to give in to the guys. In the best-case scenario, if they ended the strike now, I don’t think I would get any fuel before Thursday,” said Fernandes.

 

For more information, please see;

CNN – Gas Pumps Near Empty in Sao Paulo due to Trucker’s Strike – 7 March 2012

NPR – Gas Stations Running Dry as Brazil Truckers Strike – 7 March 2012

San Francisco Chronicle – Sao Paulo Drivers Strike, Halt Gasoline Delivery – 7 March 2012

BBC – Sao Paulo Lorry Drivers’ Strike hits Fuel Supplies – 6 March 2012