Far-right radicals tried to block oil refineries, roads in at least four states

Petrobras's Duque de Caxias refinery. Photo: Petrobras

Between Sunday and Monday, far-right radicals tried to block oil refineries in at least four Brazilian states. They aimed at creating fuel shortages to disrupt the Brazilian economy — as a notorious truckers’ strike managed to do in 2018.

According to the federation of oil industry workers’ unions, at around 9:30 am today putschist groups had already been demobilized thanks to the action of security forces and trade unions, which alerted the authorities and asked for security reinforcements at refineries.

The targets of the pro-Bolsonaro radicals were two refineries in the state of São Paulo (Replan and Revap), one in Rio (Reduc), another in Rio Grande do Sul (Refap), and another in Paraná (Repar). In the latter case, two trucks dumped dirt at the refinery’s entrance to block access to the facility.

State military police were called, and the group was dispersed after law enforcement used rubber bullets and stun grenades.

Government-controlled oil company Petrobras limited itself to saying that “the refineries operate normally.” In contrast, workers at these refineries remain on alert, as are state security forces, many of them parking their vehicles at the entrances to the refineries.

Highway blockades

Per the Federal Highway Police, blockades have been identified on at least three federal highways in the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, Pará, and Mato Grosso, all states that leaned heavily toward Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 election.

With the exception of some points in Mato Grosso, all blockades were dismantled by the authorities in a matter of minutes. As a result, the Federal Prosecution Office sent a letter to law enforcement in Mato Grosso calling for blocks on the BR-163 highway, cutting through Brazil’s biggest agricultural powerhouse, to be cleared.

In the city of São Paulo, Bolsonarist groups set fire to tires and blocked a section of the Marginal Tietê expressway this morning, but the action did not last long, and traffic on the road is now flowing freely.

Fabiane Ziolla Menezes

Former editor-in-chief of LABS (Latin America Business Stories), Fabiane has more than 15 years of experience reporting on business, finance, innovation, and cities in Brazil. The latter recently took her back to the classroom and made her a Master in Urban Management from PUCPR. At TBR, she keeps an eye on economic policy, game-changing businesses, and people driving innovation in Latin America.