Bolsonaro’s wage bumps to government workers please no one

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 key economic data. Customs officials enter the third month of a go-slow operation that raised the average waiting time for cargo clearances at ports and airports in the country from five to 20 days. 

The delays have raised concerns that a Brazilian economy already experiencing high inflation and supply issues could face an entirely new set of problems, potentially driving up prices for certain products and making other items more scarce.

This week, the president proposed a 5-percent wage bump for all government workers, in an attempt to put the crisis to bed — a...