A truckers’ strike paralyzing fuel, goods and food

deliveries across Brazil entered an eighth day Monday, despite unpopular President Michel Temer’s decision to cave in to the drivers’ key demand for lower diesel costs, reports AFP from Rio De Janeiro.

More than 550 road blockages by truckers were mounted across 24 of the country’s 27 states, the federal highway police said, bringing Latin America’s biggest economy to its knees.

Shortages of aviation fuel paralyzed eight airports and essentially shut down the huge Santos seaport near Sao Paulo, which usually receives 10,000 trucks a day and now gets only a trickle.

Although there has been some improvement since the army was ordered to intervene Friday, with armed soldiers escorting fuel trucks on priority routes, enormous lines of cars were still forming at gas stations.

Many supermarkets around the country struggled to source fresh food. Producers reported having to slaughter stocks of chickens because they had no access to the feed, while others threw out thousands of liters of spoiled milk.

Hospitals in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo had to cancel non-urgent surgeries and at least 13 states reported scrapping university classes. Adding to the disruption in Rio, the key BRT commuter system operated at only 22 percent capacity, while in Sao Paulo the bus system ran at 70 percent capacity.

After agreeing Sunday to slash diesel prices, the government proclaimed the crippling standoff over.

But the failure of rank and file truckers to honor the deal struck by their union bosses has caught Temer by surprise.