Throughout his presidency, President Jair Bolsonaro had the benefit of having an opposition that struggled to organize itself in order to counter the far-right leader. Still, he faced multiple crises of his own making — the latest of which threatens a de facto shutdown of the government in the worst-case scenario. Late in 2021, Mr. Bolsonaro pledged to raise wages for police officers, which led other public service workers — which haven’t gotten raises for five years — to demand higher wages, too.
Central Bank workers have been on strike since the beginning of the month, compromising the disclosure of...