Thousands of public workers have joined a general strike in Brazil against a controversial government proposal to reform pensions.

The strike, the first since far-right President Jair Bolsonaro took office in January, has affected public transport, schools and banks across the country.

Police used stun grenades on protesters in Rio de Janeiro. In several cities, roads were blocked with burning tyres.

Mr Bolsonaro says the reform is needed in order to restore public finances.

The plan includes raising the minimum retirement age to 65 for men and 62 for women and workers' contributions. Critics argue the changes, which have to be approved by both houses of Congress, would penalise the poorest.
• Read more about the proposed pension reform
• Is the honeymoon period over for Bolsonaro?

The one-day protest called by unions, the second general strike in Brazil in two years, affected public transport in São Paulo, Brazil's largest city, where subway workers joined the strike.

Transport had also been affected in other major cities, including Salvador, Curitiba and Maceió and the capital, Brasília. Many schools, universities, banks and parts of the state-run oil company Petrobras were also not working.

In dozens of cities across the country, protesters - who are also against cuts to the education budget - held demonstrations on the streets and in some blocked streets and roads with burning tires.

The government estimates the current plan for the reform will result in savings of $237bn (£188bn) over the next decade. The changes are seen as crucial to revive the country's economy, still struggling to recover from the 2015-2016 recession, the worst in more than a century.

Opponents say the poor would be the most affected, as they are more likely to start working at a young age and would now be required to work longer before being able to collect pension benefits.

Congress is expected to vote on the reform in the next few weeks, and the new rules would phase in over 12 to 14 years.

On Friday evening local time, Mr Bolsonaro is expected to attend the opening ceremony of the Copa America soccer tournament in São Paulo, where a special plan has been implemented for fans to arrive at the Morumbi stadium. </s> AP Explains: Why is there a general strike in Brazil?

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil kicked off a general strike Friday that is likely to paralyze major cities across Latin America's largest country. The nationwide strike is the first since the arrival of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Jan. 1. While most participants will be protesting against a pension reform being discussed in Congress, others will be turning out to oppose budget cuts, a sluggish economy and the administration's conservative agenda. Here is a look at what's happening and why:

FIRST GENERAL STRIKE IN TWO YEARS

Workers in all 26 Brazilian states and the federal district of Brasilia are expected to take part in Friday's strike, according to several unions. Actions blocking roads and public transportation are set to start early in the morning in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Turnout should be particularly strong in the northeast, the historic bastion of the opposition Workers' Party. But general strikes are not so common in Brazil. The last one was held in 2017 against proposals in Congress to loosen labor rules and trim pension benefits. Before that, there hadn't been a general strike in 20 years.

While it will be the first nationwide labor strike against Bolsonaro, he has faced protests since even before he was elected on Oct. 18, 2018. A few weeks before casting their votes, women led large demonstrations across Brazil over the far-right leader's misogynistic comments and conservative social agenda. They marched under the slogan "Not Him." In April, indigenous leaders from over 300 ethnicities attended a march in Brasilia to denounce policies they say will facilitate the expansion of mining and industrial farming businesses into their protected lands. Then last month, thousands took to the streets to oppose a decision by Bolsonaro's government to slash education funds in the largest protest so far.

Friday's strike is primarily against the pension reform the Bolsonaro administration is currently pushing for in Congress. The plan would raise the retirement age to 65 for men and 62 for women and increase workers' contributions. The government says the proposal could save about 1 trillion reals ($260 billion) and that it is essential for saving the troubled social security system and hopefully giving a boost to Latin America's largest economy. Under the current system, male and female workers can claim pension benefits after 30 to 35 years of contributions, respectively, meaning many can retire as early as 50 or 55.

The reform is one of this administration's signature promises and is currently being reviewed by a special commission in the lower house of congress. A previous pension reform bill, introduced by ex-President Michel Temer, managed to pass the commission and made it to the plenary, but was abandoned after nine months.

Some Brazilians will use the strike as another opportunity to express their opposition to the government's across-the-board budget cuts, especially to education. Professors, students and academics have protested the decision to pare $1.85 billion from funds for the public education network, from elementary schools to universities. They were particularly distressed by the suspension of some scholarship funding and a 30% freeze on federal universities' discretionary budgets, which goes to pay utility bills, security, cleaning or maintenance work. Officials have promised to send more money toward education, thanks to an additional government funding measure approved this week by Congress. But they have conditioned even more funding on the passing of the pension reform.

There is widespread discontent over Brazil's sluggish economy. Gross domestic product shrank in the first quarter of 2019, while inflation hit nearly 5% in April, the highest in more than two years. Unemployment also remains high at nearly 13%, but even greater —over 30%— among Brazilians aged 18 to 24. Economy Minister Paulo Guedes recently told Brazilian magazine Veja that he would quit his position if Congress tried to pass a watered-down version of his pension proposal. Without the reform, Guedes said the country could go broke as early as next year. </s> Major national unions and social organizations strike (again) against President Jair Bolsonaro pension reforms, shutting down capitals and cities across country.

In Brazi the Popular Brazil Front, People Without Fear Front along with hundreds of other social movements and student organizations, as well as twelve of the country's largest trade unions are staging a massive general strike against President Jair Bolsonaro’s plan to privatize the nation's pension system.

“We know that this pension reform is a fraud, it's a lie, and the working class is going to pay a high price for it. That is why we are out here,” Luiz Gonzaga da Silva, leader within the Central of Popular Movements (CMP) told the press Friday morning as the nation was brought to a halt from the strike.

Public transportation in dozens of Brazilian state capitals is non-existant this Friday and streets are empty save protesting citizens. In Sao Paulo, a city of 13 million inhabitants and Brazil's financial and economic center, burning tires along the city's main avenues have been sending up plumes of smoke among highrises since dawn.

“We closed the avenue because this is an important day for everyone. Everyone knows how important the retirement system is especially for youth, women, and rural workers,” Vitor Quarenta, a Worker’s Party (PT) activist told teleSUR. He says Bolsonaro’s proposals will affect human rights and quality of life, "especially for young people like myself.”

"Yes, we have to stop everything!" The sign reads, "The general strike did not cause chaos. It was chaos that caused the general strike."

According to local media, the rejection of the administration's neoliberal reforms are uniting those across a multitude of sectors, including bankers, teachers, students, professors, metal workers, healthcare workers, water and sewage workers, transportation workers, electricians, and civil servants from all over the country.

Bolsonaro's social security reform bill, which he says will restore public finances, seeks to raise the minimum retirement age and workers' contributions. It also includes provisions that eliminate labor protections for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.

Currently, in Brazil, workers receive a full retirement that is 80 percent of their highest contribution during the 35 years of contributions, for men, and 30 years, for woman.

If the proposal is approved by Brazil's Congress, the minimum retirement age will be 62 for women and 65 for men.

teleSUR correspondent, Brian Mier reporting from Sao Paulo says that the president's plan would transfer the management of the social security system to the private sector and banks, based on Chile's privatized pension model.

"A man who says this is not my president: 'the dictatorship's mistake was to torture instead of killing,' Jair Bolsonaro."

“For 24 hours, the federal government and reform-minded businessmen will feel the impacts of popular discontent in their pocketbooks,” commented Brasil de Fato newspaper.

The Homeless Workers Movement (MTST) and the Landless Workers Movement Terra (MST) are also participating in the general strike affecting hundreds of cities by closing the main highways that connect the nation's interior cities, according to Brazil 247.

"The strike and stoppages... expose the struggle of Brazilian workers who have suffered a lot in recent years, first with a labor reform that made work precarious and now with the social security reform, a perverse project against workers," said Lidice da Mata, a Brazilian Socialist Party Congresswoman and member of the legislature's Social Security Special Commission.

Brazilians are also demanding the government end the massive budget cuts and adjustments to the national higher education system.

On May 15 and May 30, thousands of workers, teachers and students also took to the streets to protests against budget cuts to universities and scientific research institutes. </s> Thousands of people filled the streets of Brazil's main cities Friday, and schools, banks and some public transportation shut down, as Brazilians angry over a pension reform and budget cuts held the first general strike of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro's administration.

The nationwide strike was called by Brazil's unions and mainly targeted the pension reform Bolsonaro is currently pushing for in Congress, but it comes on the heels of massive protests in May against steep cuts to the public education system and amid discontent over an economic downturn.

"Stop the reform or we stop the country!" shouted strikers in front of the Candelaria Church in downtown Rio de Janeiro.

Reinaldo Galamba, a 63-year-old French teacher in a state office, said he fears the reform would force him to work more years before retiring.

"This government is awful, it is ending the country," he said.

In Rio, police launched tear gas at protesters who attempted to block Avenida Brasil, while residents of Sao Paulo awoke to find demonstrators burning tires on the main Rodovia Anhangüera highway. There were no reports of injuries.

Authorities in Rio Grande do Sul said 76 people who participated in the protests had been detained, including 54 in the state capital of Porto Alegre.

While the crowds were not as large as in May's education protests, the United Workers Central labor federation called the strike a success, claiming that 45 million heeded its call not to work.

Bolsonaro's government, which took office on Jan. 1 and has faced a series of protests by women's and indigenous groups, as well as by teachers and students, ignored Friday's general strike. The press office of the presidency said it wouldn't release any statements.

The pension reform would raise the retirement age to 65 for men and 62 for women and increase workers' contributions. Under the current system, male and female workers can claim pension benefits after 30 to 35 years of contributions, respectively, meaning many can retire as early as 50 or 55.

Bolsonaro's government says the reform could save about 1 trillion reals ($260 billion) and help save the troubled social security system from bankruptcy.

The proposal is currently being reviewed by a special commission in the lower house of congress. A previous pension reform bill, introduced by former President Michel Temer, managed to pass the commission and made it to the plenary, but was abandoned after nine months.

Protester Carolina Cacau said the plan would do away with retirement altogether.

"It will make workers work until their death," she said. </s> Miguel Schincariol, AFP | Demonstrators protesting education budget cuts take to the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 30, 2019.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in dozens of cities in Brazil Thursday for a second nationwide demonstration in as many weeks over the government's plan to slash education spending.

Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro's government has provoked outrage among students and teachers over its proposal to freeze 30 percent of discretionary spending for public universities in the second half of this year.

A suspension of post-graduate scholarships for students in science and the humanities has also fueled anger.

Protests began in the capital Brasilia in the morning and have since spread across the country to more than 80 cities, local media reported.

"The main message is that a 30 percent cut to education is absurd and makes it impossible for higher education in this country," said Lina Vilela, a teacher at the Brasilia rally where protesters held posters with messages such as "Our books and pencils are our weapons."

Karina Afonseca said she was protesting against "the intellectual setback" Bolsonaro's actions would cause in Brazil.

"I'm here for those who are poor and deserve the right to quality public education," social services student Kaio Duarte said.

"I'm worried that the next generation won't have all of the rights to education that I have had."

In Rio de Janeiro, protesters carried signs describing Bolsonaro as "the enemy of education."

"We can't simply pretend everything is OK -- it is not OK," said university student Isadora Duarte, 24.

Tens of thousands protested across Brazil on May 15 -- the first nationwide demonstration since Bolsonaro took power in January, which underscored growing opposition to the embattled president.

Bolsonaro, who has railed against socialism as he seeks to promote his ultraconservative ideas, described the May 15 protesters as "useful idiots" and accused leftist militants of stoking the rallies.

But Thursday's turnout could be lower after the government said it would free up 1.59 billion reais in funding (about $400 million) for the sector.

Thursday's demonstrations come after thousands of pro-Bolsonaro protesters marched in cities across Brazil on Sunday in a show of support for the leader, who has seen his popularity plummet in his first five months in office.

Among their demands was for Congress to speed up approval of the government's stalled pension overhaul, seen as key to unlocking other much-needed reforms that are crucial to kick-starting economic growth. </s> A view of closed metro station in Sao Paulo, Brazil, during a national strike called by trade unions over Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's pension reforms

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Sao Paulo (AFP)

A nationwide strike called by Brazil's trade unions disrupted public transport and triggered road blocks in parts of the country Friday, ahead of protests against far-right President Jair Bolsonaro's pension reform.

Hours before the opening match of the Copa America in Sao Paulo, some metro lines in the country's biggest city were paralyzed as professors and students also prepared to take to the streets over the government's planned education spending cuts.

It will be the latest mass demonstration against Bolsonaro since he took office in January, but the timing could not be worse for the embattled president as Brazil prepares to play Bolivia in South America's showcase football tournament.

Bolsonaro was expected to attend the opener at Morumbi stadium where police sharpshooters will be deployed as part of increased security for the competition.

One of Brazil's main trade unions estimated 45 million workers had taken part in the strike.

Some 63 cities had been affected by the stoppage, with more than 80 cities recording demonstrations, G1 news site said.

The number of protesters is expected to balloon in the afternoon with demonstrations planned in Brazil's major cities.

Protesters have already blocked some roads in several cities, including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, where G1 said police had used tear gas to disperse demonstrators and clear the streets.

Brazilians were divided over the partial strike.

"This current government wants to destroy everything that we built decades ago so that's why I'm in favor (of the strike) and I am fighting against social inequality," Vania Santos, 49, told AFP in Rio.

In Sao Paulo, Flavio Moreira opposed the stoppage, however, saying it "hurts the commercial part" of the city.

- Pension savings cut -

Bolsonaro's proposed overhaul of Brazil's pension system -- which he has warned will bankrupt the country if his plan is not approved -- is seen as key to getting a series of economic reforms through Congress.

But the changes, including an increase in the retirement age and workers' contributions, have faced resistance from trade unions and in the lower house of Congress, where Bolsonaro's ultraconservative Social Liberal Party has only around 10 percent of the seats.

A pared-back draft of the reform presented to Congress on Thursday -- which reduces expected savings from 1.2 trillion reais ($300 billion) in 10 years to around 900 billion reais -- did little to appease union leaders, who vowed to go ahead with the shutdown.

Such savings are seen as vital to repairing Brazil's finances and economy, which were devastated by a 2015-2016 crisis.

Economy minister Paulo Guedes, who is spearheading the government's reform agenda, has threatened to resign if the bill is not passed or is watered down significantly.

It caps a tumultuous six months for Bolsonaro, who has seen his popularity nosedive as he struggles to push his signature reform through a hostile Congress and keep Latin America's biggest economy from sliding back into recession.

More than 13 million people are unemployed, the latest data shows, with a record number giving up looking for a job.

Fighting between military and far-right factions of Bolsonaro's government has fueled chaos in his administration where his sons and right-wing writer and polemicist Olavo de Carvalho wield enormous influence.

Bolsonaro sacked his third minister on Thursday -- retired general Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, who had been the government secretary and seen as a moderate voice.

That came on the same day Bolsonaro broke his silence to defend Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who has been accused of wrongdoing while serving as a judge in the sprawling Car Wash anticorruption investigation.

? 2019 AFP </s> SÃO PAULO -- A general strike in Brazil on Friday, called to protest proposed labor and pension changes, has disrupted public transportation around the country and some analysts say it could force the government to weaken the proposed reforms.

In São Paulo, the country's financial capital and industrial hub, many bus, metro and train lines weren't operating Friday morning, and major roads and arteries were blocked by protesters, according to city authorities.

In Brasília, the capital, access to the city's international airport was also blocked by protesters, TV images showed. Local news media reported public transportation systems were affected in cities across Brazil, from Florianopolis in the south to Fortaleza in the northeast.

Protesters are trying to stop President Michel Temer from cutting back the country's generous pension system and from reducing some worker protections. Mr. Temer says both changes are needed to reignite the country's economy.

Over the past two years, Brazil has suffered through its worst economic recession on record, which has slashed tax revenue and made the proposed changes even more urgent, some economists say.

The pension proposal, which is currently still in a committee in the lower house of Congress, would close loopholes that for decades have allowed Brazilians to retire in their mid-50s with pensions as high as their latest salary. That situation has led to social-security costs eating up about half of the nation's budget.

Mr. Temer already faces resistance in Congress to the unpopular pension overhaul, and Friday's strike could make its passage even more difficult while forcing the administration to scale back an already watered-down proposal,

"I never thought the government would be able to approve the kind of reform (Mr. Temer) really wanted, but the question now is just how many more concessions he'll have to make" to get the proposal through Congress, said Carlos Melo, a political-science professor at the Insper business school in São Paulo.

Mr. Melo said it is difficult to say how many people stayed home Friday because they support the strike, and how many just had no way to get to work or decided to avoid the added hassles.

Daniel Cruz da Silva, a 25-year-old who works in an office near São Paulo's emblematic Paulista Avenue, said he stayed home because his 18-kilometer (11-mile) trip to work was impossible due to the transportation "chaos." Mr. da Silva, who said he supports the strike because workers need to protect themselves, nevertheless criticized unions for looking out more for their own interests than for union members'.

The labor law proposal, which Wednesday was approved in the lower house of Brazil's Congress and will now move to the Senate, would overhaul some of the country's 1940s-era labor code.

Included in the bill are proposals designed to reduce or scrap mandatory union dues, make it harder for workers to sue their employers, and expand the scope for flexible work arrangements and temporary employment contracts.

The strike was called by some of Brazil's largest unions. Many businesses, banks and schools closed, and the Força Sindical union said factories have also shut down. The strike is necessary to force the government to negotiate changes to workers' rights and to the pension system, said Paulo Pereira da Silva, president of Força Sindical.

"Brazil showed today its unhappiness with the reforms," said Mr. da Silva. "If there's no dialogue with the government, there will be more stoppages."

Write to Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com and Luciana Magalhaes at Luciana.Magalhaes@wsj.com </s> Brazilian unions called nationwide strikes on Friday to protest President Michel Temer’s efforts to reduce social security benefits and weaken labor laws, with disruption expected to road and rail transport, factories and schools. Many workers were expected to heed the strike call, due in part to anger about reforms that will force many Brazilians to work for years longer before drawing a pension, but also because the strike will extend a holiday weekend ahead of Labor Day on Monday.

If successful, the protest would mark Brazil’s first general strike in more than two decades.

In Brasilia, the capital, authorities boarded up windows of government buildings on Thursday amid fears that protests could result in violent clashes between demonstrators and police.

Demonstrations were scheduled in other major cities across the Latin American nation of more than 200 million people.

“It is going to be the biggest strike in the history of Brazil,” said Paulo Pereira da Silva, the president of trade union group Forca Sindical.

Violent protests have occurred repeatedly during the past four years amid political turmoil, Brazil’s worst recession on record, and unprecedented corruption investigations that revealed stunning levels of systematic graft among politicians.

Nearly a third of Temer’s cabinet and key congressional allies came under investigation in the scandal this month, worsening his dismal approval ratings since taking office last year after the impeachment of ex-President Dilma Rousseff.

Rousseff’s Workers Party grew out of the labor movement, and her allies have called her removal for breaking budget rules an illegitimate “coup,” contributing to political polarization in Brazil and hardline union resistance to Temer’s agenda.

Vagner Freitas, the national president of the Central Workers Union (CUT), Brazil’s biggest labor confederation, said the government’s reforms “leave no room to negotiate.”

“Temer does not even want to negotiate, he just wants to meet the demands of the businessmen who financed the ‘coup’ precisely to end social security and legalize the exploitation of workers,” Freitas said in a statement.

A spokesman for Temer rejected the union criticism, saying the government was working to undo the economic damage wrought under the previous Workers Party government, which had the backing of the CUT.

“The inheritance of that was 13 million unemployed. The government is carrying out reforms to change this situation, to create jobs and economic growth,” said spokesman Marcio de Freitas.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now </s> Sao Paulo, Brazil - Tens of thousands of students, teachers and researchers across Brazil took to the streets on Wednesday to protest against government cuts and spending freezes to the education budget.

Brazil's National Student Union called for protests after the Ministry of Education said it was freezing nearly a quarter of discretionary spending due to budget restrictions across public services because of the current financial crisis in the country.

But scholars across Brazil accuse President Jair Bolsonaro of waging an ideological attack against education, and of using budget cuts to pressure congressmen to approve a much-anticipated but controversial pension reform.

"This protest is against what is happening at MEC," said Celso Napolitano, president of the Federation of Teachers of Sao Paulo (FEPESP). "The cuts in federal universities mean a death strike in the scientific production in Brazil."

Protests took place in 27 cities across the country. Online, the hashtag "education tsunami" trended throughout the day.

'My weapon is my education'

In Sao Paulo thousands of protesters occupied the city centre for hours, chanting "Bolsonaro Out", and holding signs reading "my weapon is my education".

Marcus Vinicius, 19, was part of a large group of students from the University of Sao Paulo, one of the leading institutions in the country.

"The minister says we only party, then I want to invite him to come to our school and see what we produce every day," Vinicius told Al Jazeera, referring to the Minister of Education's statement that universities are in "shambles".

Vinicius is studying public management and says his university has already made cuts to research, especially for post-graduates. "The 'party' we do is being here, protesting for education for our country, so that there is more inclusion, and people that really need public universities can have access to it," he added.

Just a few metres away, Letícia Coelho and other teachers looked on the protests and their students. A group dressed in blue protested in defence of the "survival of oceanography" courses, while others wearing black t-shirts rallied for law courses and departments.

"It touches me to see them here but it also makes me really sad that we still have to be fighting for education in 2019," Coelho told Al Jazeera. She is an art history professor at the Federal University of Sao Paulo, and said many of her students come from lower classes and are the first generation of their families attending school.

"That makes it extra hard," she said. "I think these cuts are scandalous and go against a long policy of investment in federal universities."

'Contingencies'

In a congressional hearing about MEC's decision, Education Minister Abraham Weintraub said, "There are no cuts, only contingencies".

He said the "contingencies" were part of a government austerity plan and that all funds could be reinstated "if the economy records any growth". Opposition politicians accused Weintraub and the government of using budget cuts as "blackmail" to move their agenda forward.

In Brazil, the budget for universities is divided into mandatory expenses, such as salaries and pensions, which the government cannot reduce, and "discretionary" expenses, which includes water and electricity bills, housing for foreign students or maintenance work.

The recently announced cuts will slash 30 percent of funds to the discretionary expenses budget. This represents a cut of about $1.8bn, or 3.4 percent of the total annual budget for universities, according to MEC.

"The minister says the cuts only regard water and electricity bills, considered 'non-mandatory', but a university cannot run without water or light," Napolitano said.

"Because those expenses have to be covered, and the council of deans have said this, they will have to end up cutting their financing for scientific research," he added.

Funding for federal universities has been on a steady decline for years. A report by the news channel G1, using government data, revealed that more than 90 percent of all federal universities in Brazil have had their budgets reduced since 2013. The study found the decline in funding reached an average of 28 percent, although student enrolment went up 10 percent.

Investment in education has been a constant debate in Brazil, with pictures of schools with no light, holes in the roofs or cracks on the walls, constantly circulating on social media. For many, the announced budget cuts will deteriorate an already overwhelmed education system.

Bolsonaro and many of his ministers have criticised what they say goes on in public universities, often suggesting students use drugs and party instead of studying.

Earlier this month, during a Facebook Live broadcast, Bolsonaro said the money cut from federal universities will be reinvested in primary education, calling the education system in Brazil "a house with an excellent roof but rotten walls".

As thousands took to the streets across the country, Bolsonaro arrived in Dallas, Texas, for an event.

Talking to reporters at the Dallas airport, Bolsonaro called those protesting "useful idiots and imbeciles" and that most were "militants with nothing in their hands".

The government's plan also includes freezing 3,500 post-graduate scholarships across the country, which represent an investment of $12.5m. A representative of MEC's office for post-graduate studies (CAPES) told Al Jazeera the money "will not be re-invested somewhere else", but that "if the economy recovers, the idea is that all scholarships are reinstated". Until then, no new scholarships will be given. </s> Brazilian students and teachers are taking part in rallies across the country today (Aug 13) in defense of the autonomy of public universities, and against the reduction in funding for education and the overhaul in the country’s pension system. The demonstrations were called by students’ movements and trade unions.

According to the National Confederation of Education Workers (CNTE), marches have been slated in at least 170 cities in all states. The countrywide demonstrations come as a follow-up to the protests staged in May, for the preservation of funds for higher education. The cuts announced by the government, Brazil’s National Students’ Union (UNE) argue, affect not universities, but also school education in all stages.

The protests, UNE reports, come also in response to the government’s new program Future-se, described by the Education Ministry as a plan to bolster the administrative and financial management of federal universities and institutes by means of a privately-held fund, whose quotas are negotiated at stock exchanges.

In the view of trade unions and students’ movements, the initiative places tasks under the government’s responsibility in the hands of the market.

Translation: Fabrício Ferreira Edition: Juliana Andrade / Nira Foster
In response to a controversial pension reform proposal and cuts in the education budget, a general strike by over 40 million workers takes place in Brazil. Demonstrations are held in over 80 cities across the country.