• Brazil Silence of Bolsonaro and roads cut to complicate the beginning of the transition to Lula

  • Latin America Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia: the new leftist axis of the Patria Grande

The very close victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the Brazilian presidential elections had a first and astonishing effect: the decision of hundreds of truck drivers to block roads in a large part of the country.

Followers of the outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro, the attitude of the carriers took the country's powers by surprise and

sent Lula a signal of how difficult his third presidency will be for

him.

On Monday night, the worst moment of the blockade,

more than 300 highways were closed

to traffic in 25 states and the Federal District of Brasilia.

The reason is as simple as it is amazing: the demonstrators are protesting against the result of the elections.

After the initial confusion of the governors and the silence of the federal government, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) took action, which in recent days has made key decisions for the country and gives the impression of being the one that is effectively governing Brazil.

"Since Monday, the TSE sent a series of judicial orders to the platforms that determine the elimination of the WhatsApp and Telegram groups with the calls for stoppages on the highways and the request for the use of the Armed Forces for a military coup. The

letters

ask for the removal of content 'that incites a serious disturbance of the democratic environment'

and that instigates 'military intervention or the distorted application of article 142 of the Constitution,'" said

Folha de São Paulo

.

The governor of São Paulo, Rodrigo García,

ordered a fine of 100,000 reais (about 20,000 euros) for each hour of blockade

for blocking truckers.

The same threat of sanction was decided by the TSE against the head of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), Silvinei Vasques, a well-known Bolsonarist.

Many governors who support the defeated president are also actively working against the blockades.

Bolsonaro is highly popular among many truckers and taxi drivers

for the creation of the "Auxilio Camionero" and "Auxilio Taxista" programs

.

The benefit was created in August through a constitutional amendment approved by the National Congress, with the aim of helping professionals in the midst of rising fuel prices.

Six monthly deliveries are planned until December, each of 1,000 reais (about 200 euros).

"It is an attempt at protest and an idiotic and surreal coup

," criticized a business representative in dialogue with EL MUNDO.

The man asked not to be identified, since he must negotiate with many of the Bolsonarista truckers to restore the logistics chain, seriously affected in many industries.

The Guarulhos international airport, neighboring São Paulo and the largest in South America,

had to cancel 25 flights between Monday and Tuesday

, since truckers blocked the access highway, a blockage that has now been resolved.

Social media platforms are detecting and blocking a proliferation of Bolsonarist groups with names as disturbing as Paralization 1, 2, 3 or Civil Resistance.

Telegram was the main platform for these groups, but as soon as they began to be blocked, they migrated to WhatsApp, which also began to eliminate them, just as YouTube is doing with many videos.

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