Brazilian finance minister says economy recovers after truckers' strike

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Brazil's Finance Minister Eduardo Guardia said on Monday that the country's economy has already managed to recover from the losses caused by the truckers' strike in May.

The 10-day nationwide strike paralyzed all fuel transportation in the country, as well as most transportation of food and other products.

Truckers strike against the high price of diesel on Regis Bittencourt Highway on May 29, 2018 in San Paulo, Brazil. /VCG Photo

Truck drivers were protesting against the high diesel fuel price, which skyrocketed since the government changed the pricing policies of state-owned oil company Petrobras.

In order to get the truckers back to work, the government offered cuts in diesel fuel prices and suspended some of the taxes applied to fuel.

"There is no doubt the strike caused losses to the country. It paralyzed the country for 10 days, there were supply problems; it affected several sectors of the economy, including truckers' own activity. But what we must discuss now is the impact of all that, and the numbers I saw were very positive," Guardia said.

Guardia called the strike an isolated incident. "During the strike, the economy was practically paralyzed, so there are losses for several sectors. Now the economy is back on track and has resumed a growth trajectory," the minister added.

(Cover: Drivers await the arrival of fuel to supply motorcycles and cars during the trucker's strike May 29, 2018 in San Paulo, Brazil. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency