A Trucker Strike Brought Brazil's Economy To A Grinding Halt — And It May Get A Right-wing Former Army Officer Elected President

Thomson ReutersBRASILIA (Reuters) - Far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro went out on a limb to support a truckers strike that paralyzed Brazil and forced the government to reinstate costly fuel subsidies, and the strategy may have helped his chances of beating one of several pro-business reform candidates in October's election. The scale of the truckers' stoppage overwhelmed President Michel Temer's unpopular government, which was pressured into granting truckers' demands as airports ran out of fuel, grocery shelves emptied and drivers waited hours to fill their tanks. Despite these disruptions, truckers won support from many Brazilians angry at a surge in diesel prices since state oil company Petrobras scrapped subsidies under Temer.