Intl. Trade--Brazil suffers crippling truckers' strike, drought

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Thursday July 29, 1999 08:01 PM

Brazil's Government Gives Ultimatum to Striking Truckers

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Brazil's truckers agreed Thursday to end a four-day strike that had paralyzed the country after the government promised to suspend a planned hike in road tolls, the Transportation Ministry said.

The government also pledged to step up security on Brazil's roads, among other things, according to a ministry statement.

The strike, involving thousands of truckers, caused severe food and gas shortages across Brazil, which is heavily dependent on trucks to transport about 60 percent of its cargo.

Productions lines shut down and there were severe reductions in exports moving through the main port at Santos in the southeast.

Earlier in the day, the truckers agreed to unblock major highways. The government applauded that decision but warned that the strike had to end soon.

``This situation, which has seriously affected the daily lives of all Brazilians, must come to an end today,'' said presidential aide Aluysio Nunes Ferreira.

More than five hours of negotiations Wednesday between the strike's leader and the government failed to produce results. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso then authorized the use of armed forces to open blocked roads.

There were minor clashes with riot police in Sao Paulo on Wednesday. But when asked to free the roads, the truckers complied peacefully.

Analysts said the strike may represent the most serious challenge to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's authority since he took office in 1995.

The strike could not have come at a worse time for Cardoso, whose popularity has dipped to its lowest levels ever in recent polls.

``It is obvious some political forces are using the legitimate grievances of the truckers ... to dash his party's chances in the next presidential elections,'' said Alexandre Barros, head of the political consulting firm Early Warning.

By MICHAEL ASTOR, Associated Press Writer

Sunday July 18, 1999 05:58 PM

State of Emergency Declared in Brazil Because of Drought

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- A severe drought has prompted officials in an impoverished northeastern Brazilian state to declare a state of emergency in 26 cities, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The drought has destroyed more than half the area's agricultural crops, affecting thousands in the southern part of Piaui state, 1,500 miles north of Rio de Janeiro.

``Many of these municipalities haven't seen rain for a year,'' Osmar Araujo, Piaui's civil defense secretary, was quoted as telling the daily Folha de Sao Paulo.

In Avelino Lopes, the only water for the municipality's 12,000 inhabitants comes from a single truck. Local officials predict widespread starvation if state and federal authorities don't react soon.

Last year, 221 towns declared a state of emergency as the northeast suffered its worst drought in 15 years.

The drought-plagued northeast has 45 million residents.

Most victims are subsistence farmers.



-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), July 30, 1999

Answers

The rain forest pumps huge quantities of water into the air, a giant evaporator. Cut the forest for wood, clear the trees to plant crops, and presto, the rain stops falling. Makes sense to me.

Pretty rough on the subjects of our little experiment, tho.

-- bw (home@puget.sound), July 30, 1999.


``Many of these municipalities haven't seen rain for a year...''

Ouch!

As the world turns.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), July 30, 1999.


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