Brazilian truckers weigh strike as diesel prices jump amid Middle East conflict

Truck drivers’ unions in Brazil are advocating for a strike as early as this week after the recent jump in ​diesel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, ‌a union head said on Tuesday, March 18.

A truckers’ strike could have dire consequences for Brazil, if it is widespread, as the country is heavily reliant on the drivers to ​transport products across the country and into ports.

In 2018, a ​massive truckers’ strike brought the country to a halt for ⁠about 10 days with numerous road blockades. As diesel prices surge, calls for ​a strike have taken shape, but without clear dates or any signal ​of the adherence level.

“It’s a fight for survival,” Wallace Landim, head of truckers’ union Abrava told Reuters in an interview, adding a strike could kick off this week.

The ​average price of S-10 diesel, the most widely sold type in ​Brazil, has risen around 19% nationwide since February 28, when the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran ‌began and ⁠lifted global oil prices, data from payments firm ValeCard showed on Tuesday.

It is not the first time since 2018 that drivers have attempted a wide strike, but Landim said past attempts were politically driven while now ​truck drivers are ​feeling “the same pain ⁠we felt in 2018.”

In a bid to soften the impact of higher global oil prices on consumers, President ​Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government scrapped taxes on diesel ​last week, ⁠and Brazil’s oil regulator launched an operation to combat fuel price gouging.

But it is unclear whether the government’s efforts will be enough to prevent truck ⁠drivers ​from turning off their vehicles.

“Truck drivers are ​at their limit,” said Carlos Alberto, a director at CNTTL, a transport workers’ union, in a ​statement.

Reporting by Alberto Alerigi for Reuters

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