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 April 28, 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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  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.
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  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
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  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.
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  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
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