Bolsonaro Supporters Block Highway With Fiery Barricade in Sao Jose dos Pinhais
Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro blocked major highways across the country, including in Sao Jose dos Pinhais, State of Parana, on October 31, after he was defeated in the presidential election run-off the day previous.
Bolsonaro lost Sunday’s run-off election to former president Lula da Silva.
According to the Policia Rodoviaria Federal, Brazil’s federal highway police, there were 136 incidents on highways across the country on October 31, causing major traffic jams.
Local news reports said the protest was mainly carried out by truckers, who only allowed vehicles with children, elderly occupants, or supporters of Bolsonaro to pass, and added that police had facilitated these exceptions through negotiations.
Videos filmed by Moises Rosa, a self-proclaimed Bolsonaro supporter, show both sides of BR-116 in in Sao Jose dos Pinhais, a suburb of Curitiba, blocked by burning barricades and trucks at the intersection with Avenida Rui Barbosa on Monday. Rosa told Storyful a man in a tractor, seen in this footage, attempted to clear the blockade but “gave up.”
When asked for comment, Rosa told Storyful: "Socialism in Brazil no, Lula does not represent us.” Credit: Moises Rosa via Storyful
