Supporters of defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro Protesters blocked the main access road to the important grain export port of Paranagua for a second day on Tuesday, the port authority said. Grain exports have been blocked, adding to concerns that there could be a worsening global shortage of staple commodities.
Blockades in the area were first reported during the afternoon of Monday October 31st amid spreading demonstrations by lorry drivers and other supporters of Bolsonaro, who lost narrowly to Lula da Silva.
Truckers were one of Bolsonaro’s key constituencies as they benefited significantly from his policies to lower fuel prices. If the mood takes them they have the ability to disrupt the Brazilian economy severely by shutting highways. Some of them have called for military intervention to keep Bolsonaro in power.
According to the federal highway police on early Tuesday afternoon, protesters were blocking highways partially or fully in about 200 locations, with protests spreading to 22 of Brazil’s 27 states. They said another 330 roadblocks had been cleared.
Rail company Rumo RAIL3.SA told Reuters that the protests had reduced the number of trucks at certain of its terminals, while there were some disruptions in sections of the railroad in Morretes, Parana, and in Joinville, Santa Catarina.
Farm states like Santa Catarina, where many Brazilian meatpackers operate, and Mato Grosso, Brazil’s biggest grain producer, were among the most affected by the roadblocks that started after polls closed on Sunday, police data showed. Brazil poultry and pork processors might have to halt slaughtering at some sites as early as Wednesday, according to one report.
