CNI warns of the risk of shortages to the population due to the lockdowns

The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) warned of the risk of shortages and lack of fuel, if highways are not quickly unblocked.

Since Sunday night, hours after the election results, supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro have been blocking highways across Brazil in protest of the victory of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. So far, at least 23 Brazilian states have a record of road stoppages.

According to the statement, the industries are already feeling the impacts on the flow of production and report cases of impossibility of moving workers. The entity says that the stoppages already affect the transport of essential loads, such as equipment and supplies for hospitals, as well as basic raw materials for industrial activities.

CNI data show that 99% of Brazilian companies use highways to transport their production.

“The industrial sector is opposed to any movement that compromises the free movement of workers and the transport of loads and that causes direct damage to the production process and the lives of citizens – those most impacted by this situation”, says the disclosure.

The alert also emphasizes that the constitutional right of Brazilians to come and go must be respected. “The CNI is vehemently opposed to any anti-democratic demonstration that harms the country and its population. The CNI maintains permanent contact with sectoral and state representations, in order to monitor the impacts of the blockades on the country’s productive activities, as well as direct dialogue with the competent institutions aiming at the speedy release of federal and state highways, in compliance with the decision of the Federal Supreme Court (STF)”.