2017 Brazilian general strike

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Posters announcing the strike, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul Greve Geral . 28 de abril . Pare! (Porto Alegre, Brasil).jpg
Posters announcing the strike, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul

The 2017 Brazilian general strike took place on 28 April, 100 years after Brazil's first general strike in June 1917. [1] The movement was a protest against reforms of labor laws, which were later adopted and social security proposed by Michel Temer government and pending in National Congress of Brazil. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

More than 150 cities recorded stoppages, [5] and according to the organizers, there were 40 million people, [6] with no official admission balance or the number of protesters on the streets. [5] With wide coverage in international media, [7] the strike was minimized by the Brazilian press according to the journalist Paula Cesarino Costa, with emphasis given to conflicts between police and strikers. [8] With diverse reactions, politicians who support the government reduced the impact of the strike while oppositionists defended it as popular expression. [9] [10] [11] Political scientist Marco Antonio Teixeira, in an interview for the BBC, said that the strike was "smaller than organizers expected, but larger than the government would like". [5]

History

Several trade union centrals called for protests against new labor and social security laws proposals to the National Congress of Brazil by Michel Temer government. Supported by local unions, the strike was called by several trade unions. [12] [13] Other movements were also at the forefront of demonstrations, such as Landless Workers' Movement, [14] Homeless Workers' Movement [15] and National Union of Students. [16]

The political parties that declared support or encouraged their militancy to appear on the streets were Worker's Party, [17] Brazilian Socialist Party, [18] Communist Party of Brazil, [19] Socialism and Liberty Party, [19] United Socialist Workers' Party, Brazilian Communist Party, [20] Democratic Labor Party [21] Solidarity [22] and Sustainability Network. [23] The strike was also supported by the Catholic Church in Brazil. Several bishops and priests summoned the faithful to protest against reforms. National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) issued a note calling on Christians to fight "in order to seek the best for our people, especially the most fragile". [24]

A military police officer from Goiás caused serious injuries to the university student Mateus Ferreira da Silva during a protest in the city of Goiania. The aggression was photographed and filmed, with photos in sequence capturing the moment when the captain's baton Augusto Sampaio breaks when reaching the student's head. [25] The student spent 11 days in the intensive care unit [26] and suffered several fractures in the face, in addition to traumatic brain injury. [26] The police officer was removed from external actions and awaits in administrative activities the conclusion of an investigation into the incident. [27] [28]

Reactions

The strike had international repercussions [10] [8] [7] and generated diverse reactions among journalists, government officials and political scientists, whereas, according to the Folha de S.Paulo ombudsman, national coverage was minimized and exacerbated conflicts between demonstrators and police forces. [8]

The president Michel Temer criticized acts of violence. [29] [8] [9] The former Minister of Justice, Osmar Serraglio, said that the strike would have failed. [30] Politicians who supported the government criticized the strike and its motives, while opposition politicians supported it as a backing of the popular will. [11] João Doria Junior, mayor of São Paulo, fought the strike stating in a social network that "Friday is a day of work". Free Brazil Movement also strongly campaigned against it, saying that demonstrators depend on the union tax. [31] The union centrals have classified the strike as the biggest of the last decades, counting on the adhesion of 40 million people. [6] [10]

The political scientist Milton Lahuerta said that the strike represented "an expression of indignation". [9] Already for the journalist Merval Pereira, the strike would not be a popular uprising, but of unions that would be "losing perks". [32] The Rádio Jovem Pan declared that "there was no general strike" and that "in fact, the strike failed": "There were only small pickets of people who tried to stop Brazil". [33] [10]

See also

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References

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  2. "Greve geral: as paralisações desta sexta pelo país". Veja. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  3. "Greve geral: veja o que não vai funcionar nesta sexta-feira, 28 de abril". El País .
  4. "Os motivos da greve geral desta sexta (28/04)". Exame. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 "'Greve foi menor do que organizadores esperavam, mas maior do que governo gostaria', diz cientista político". BBC. 29 April 2017. Não houve um balanço oficial sobre a quantidade de pessoas que aderiram à greve ou sobre os protestos espalhados nas principais capitais brasileiras
  6. 1 2 "Greve geral reúne 40 milhões de trabalhadores, dizem sindicatos". Exame. 28 April 2017.
  7. 1 2 Nelso de Sá (28 April 2017). "No exterior, cobertura da greve geral foca Lula e apoio de igrejas". Folha de S. Paulo.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Paula Cesarino Costa (30 April 2017). "A imprensa e a greve geral". Folha de S. Paulo. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 Wellington Ramalhoso e Gabriela Fujita (28 April 2017). "Greve paralisa transporte no Brasil, esvazia SP, mas governo minimiza atos". UOL. Representantes das centrais sindicais exaltaram o movimento grevista e disseram que se tratou da maior paralisação do país em pelo menos 34 anos
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Greve foi geral, mas não parou o país". O Dia. 28 April 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Palácio do Planalto avalia que greve geral tem baixo engajamento". Época Negócios. 28 April 2017. "Há um baixo engajamento nessa radicalização, cujo objetivo foi forçar um feriadão" [fonte ligada à Presidência] ... "Isso não é greve, é piquete. Greve é quando o trabalhador cruza os braços na fábrica. Mas hoje as pessoas estão em casa. O que está acontecendo é um grupo impondo uma restrição ao direitos das pessoas se locomoverem" afirmou [Rodrigo Maia] ... "Essa greve demonstra que a maioria da população repudia as chamadas reformas", disse Zaratini.
  12. "Chamada para o dia 28/4 – Unidade Classista". Unidade Classista.
  13. "As imagens da Greve Geral pelo Brasil, em 28 de abril de 2017, que vão entrar para a História". HuffPost Brasil. 28 April 2017. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017. A Greve Geral foi foi convocada pela Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT), Central dos Trabalhadores do Brasil (CTB), Intersindical, Central e Sindical Popular (CSP/Conlutas), União Geral dos Trabalhadores (UGT), Força Sindical, Nova Central, Central dos Sindicatos Brasileiros (CSB) e Central Geral dos Trabalhadores do Brasil (CGTB)
  14. "MST vai bloquear as rodovias do Brasil neste dia de Greve Geral". MST. 27 April 2017. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017.
  15. "No Largo da Batata, líder do MTST afirma que greve é a 'maior em 30 anos'". Epoca Negócios. 28 April 2017.
  16. "UNE, UBES e ANPG posicionam-se contra a precarização promovida pelo governo ilegítimo". UNE. 27 April 2017. A União Nacional dos Estudantes, a União Brasileira dos Estudantes Secundaristas e a Associação Nacional dos Pós-Graduandos reforçam, portanto, a convocação máxima para a classe estudantil brasileira massificar a Greve Geral deste dia 28 de abril
  17. Catia Seabra (11 April 2017). "Programa do PT exalta Lula, ataca Temer e esconde Dilma". Folha de S. Paulo. O programa petista encerra com uma convocação para a greve geral do dia 28 de abril
  18. "Presidente do PSB convoca socialistas a irem às ruas nesta sexta-feira (28)". PSB. 27 April 2017.
  19. 1 2 Larissa Quixabeira (28 April 2017). "Ato contra reformas de Temer reúne 10 mil pessoas em Goiânia, diz CUT". Jornal Opção. participam do ato ... lideranças partidárias do PT, PCdoB e Psol em Goiás
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  22. "28 de abril: um dia para entrar para a história!". Solidariedade. 25 April 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  23. "Nas ruas pelos direitos contra a corrupção e pelo #cassaTSE". REDE Sustentabilidade. 1 May 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  24. ""Consideramos fundamental que se escute a população", afirma dom Leonardo Steiner sobre greve geral". CNBB. 25 April 2017. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  25. "Sequência de fotos mostra que cassetete de PM quebrou ao atingir rosto de estudante em Goiânia; veja". G1. 29 April 2017.
  26. 1 2 "Estudante agredido por policial militar em Goiânia sai da UTI". Agência Brasil - Últimas notícias do Brasil e do mundo. 9 May 2017.
  27. CeciliaOlliveira (4 May 2017). "Protesto de "terroristas" motivou agressão a estudante em Goiás, diz militar". The Intercept. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  28. "PM que agrediu estudante em protesto em Goiás é retirado das ruas | VEJA.com". VEJA.com. 1 May 2017.
  29. "Temer critica 'atos isolados de violência' em greve". Estadão. 28 April 2017. Ministros do governo minimizam impacto da paralisação no País
  30. "Governo diz que greve "fracassou" e promete tirar cargos de deputados que não votaram em reforma". 28 April 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  31. "MBL e João Doria criticam ato de 6ª, mas já apoiaram greves contra Dilma". Poder360 . 27 April 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  32. Merval Pereira (28 April 2017). "Greve não é nem espontânea nem popular". OGlobo. Não é uma greve espontânea, do povo revoltado que resolveu protestar e sim de sindicatos e de corporações que estão perdendo regalias
  33. "A greve fracassou". Rádio Jovem Pan. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.