A SEMBLANCE of normality returned to São Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, after a ten-day strike by lorry drivers that had paralysed traffic, shut down petrol stations and emptied grocery-store shelves. The annual gay-pride parade, held on June 3rd, brought 3m people to Avenida Paulista, the city’s main street. Football fans packed bars to watch Brazil’s team play a World Cup warm-up game against Croatia.
But this resumption of ordinary life is deceptive. The drivers’ strike, called to protest against higher fuel prices, marks an ominous beginning to a political season that will culminate in national elections in October. It has demonstrated Brazilians’ taste for irresponsible policies and boosted the prospects of the most extreme candidate in the presidential race, Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing former army captain.
It also showed that the next president will have a hard time enacting the reforms needed to maintain economic stability. The strike ended only after Michel Temer, the...Continue reading
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