AP Explains: Why is there a general strike in Brazil?
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil kicked off a general strike Friday that is likely to paralyze major cities across Latin America's largest country. The nationwide strike is the first since the arrival of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Jan. 1. While most participants will be protesting against a pension reform being discussed in Congress, others will be turning out to oppose budget cuts, a sluggish economy and the administration's conservative agenda. Here is a look at what's happening and why:
FIRST GENERAL STRIKE IN TWO YEARS
Workers in all 26 Brazilian states and the federal district of Brasilia are expected to take part in Friday's strike, according to several unions. Actions blocking roads and public transportation are set to start early in the morning in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Turnout should be particularly strong in the northeast, the historic bastion of the opposition Workers' Party. But general strikes are not so common in Brazil. The last one was held in 2017 against proposals in Congress to loosen labor rules and trim pension benefits. Before that, there hadn't been a general strike in 20 years.
PROTESTS AGAINST BOLSONARO
While it will be the first nationwide labor strike against Bolsonaro, he has faced protests since even before he was elected on Oct. 18, 2018. A few weeks before casting their votes, women led large demonstrations across Brazil over the far-right leader's misogynistic comments and conservative social agenda. They marched under the slogan "Not Him." In April, indigenous leaders from over 300 ethnicities attended a march in Brasilia to denounce policies they say will facilitate the expansion of mining and industrial farming businesses into their protected lands. Then last month, thousands took to the streets to oppose a decision by Bolsonaro's government to slash education funds in the largest protest so far.
Read more at: https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/world/article/AP-Explains-Why-is-there-a-general-strike-in-13997539.php
The Bolsonaro admin is trying to rid the education or at least, make a dent in what is "radical indoctrination" in education. It's down there too.
