The biggest popular demonstrations in Brazil

A truckers' strike is the subject most covered by the news since its outbreak on May 20th. Images of kilometric queues on highways, gas stations without fuel and lack of products on shelves are the most frequent in newspapers and magazines.

As has already been widely discussed, the strike was initiated by self-employed drivers, hired by carriers and other associations of the category. It all started after the National Confederation of Autonomous Transporters presented an official letter asking for the freezing of the price charged for diesel oil, in addition to the opening of negotiations.

For the price to be reduced, the request is that the government establish rules for readjustments of the product. Like this? Simple! Currently, the amounts charged depend on the variation of oil in the international market, in addition to the dollar exchange rate.

Truck drivers claim that the value practiced today makes it unfeasible to transport goods. But the group was ignored, which set the trigger for the stoppages. Over the days, the strikers have gained the support of private car drivers, motorcyclists, transport by application and others that ask for the reduction of fuel prices, such as gasoline and ethanol.

On Sunday (27), the President of the Republic, Michel Temer, issued a statement announcing concessions in an attempt to end the strike, including freezing the price of diesel oil for 60 days and a drop of R$ 0.46 per liter in refineries.

But the stalemate continues. The strikers claim that the demands were not fully met, so the demonstrations go on.

There are those who say that the strike could change the course of the country, in view of the serious consequences that it already causes. But this is not the first situation of its kind in our history!

Let us recall, then, the biggest popular demonstrations who were able to transform the reality of Brazil!

Workers' Strikes (early 20th century)

At the beginning of the 20th century, industrial workers did not have access to the most basic labor rights we know today. Low wages, unhealthy conditions, excessive working hours, in addition to child labor set the scene at that time in factories in large cities.

A good part of the workers at the time were European immigrants who brought with them communist and anarchist ideals. The first major strike took place on May 1, 1907 and lasted until mid-June. Even though it was violently repressed, it managed to institute the adoption of the 8-hour working regime.

The second took place ten years later, due to the crisis caused by the end of the First World War. Low wages, food shortages and increased working hours culminated in a march on July 9th in São Paulo. The movement was harshly repressed and ended with the death of shoemaker Antônio Martinez.

The murder provoked a stoppage that reached 45,000 employees, most of them workers from São Paulo.

Vaccine Revolt (1904)

Sanitarian Oswaldo Cruz, at the time head of the Public Health Board, promised to solve the yellow fever problem in three years. For this, he created a law that made the vaccine mandatory.

In the text of the Law, health agents could enter the houses, lift the arms and legs of the residents to apply the medication. Many, obviously, understood this as an invasion of privacy, even more, as an attack on indecency.

Arbitrary actions, home invasions, forced interdictions and evictions were the ingredients that brought 3,000 people to the streets. Residents were supported by students from the Military School of Praia Vermelha who wanted to return to power by removing President Rodrigues Alves.

A vaccine revolt took the city for eight days, more precisely, between November 10th and 18th of that year. The balance was 30 dead, 110 wounded, 1,000 arrested, hundreds of deportations, in addition to the closing of the military school.

March of the 100 Thousand (1968)

Student movement, intellectuals, artists, sectors of the Church and other representatives organized a protest against the military dictatorship in June 1968. That year, two students were killed in clashes with police forces, but the march continued with a festive atmosphere. The event ended with five students arrested.

Four months later, verbal attacks between anti-communists from Mackenzie and leftists from USP culminated in a fight involving rockets, stones, sticks, molotovs and gunshots. One of the USP students was killed. Days later, at a congress held by the National Union of Students in Ibiúna, São Paulo was invaded by the police.

The action ended with the arrest of 900 students and the harassment of some public servant parents. On December 13, AI5 was declared, which gave full powers to the President of the Republic to withdraw political and civil rights from dissidents, confiscate their assets and dissolve Congress.

Repression was the trigger for rural and urban guerrillas that tried to attack the military in the 60s and 70s. The movements were defeated, but the 1968 resistance became the model of struggle for the country's redemocratization.

Direct Now (1984)

Presidential elections had been extinguished since 1964 and, between January and April 1984, large-scale rallies were held asking for the return of direct elections, a movement known as Direct now. The largest were held at the end of the period – 1 million people in Candelária (RJ) and 1.5 million in Vale do Anhangabaú, in São Paulo.

However, it is important to remember the rally held at Praça da Sé, which brought together between 300 and 400 thousand people. The chorus that sang “One, two, three, four, five, one thousand, we want to elect the president of Brazil” swelled the mobilization that would take crowds to the streets in all Brazilian capitals.

Impeachment of President Collor (1992)

The intense accusations of corruption against Fernando Collor de Mello, measures that led the country to recession, inflation accumulated and the confiscation of savings accounts were the perfect ingredients for the demonstrations held that year.

Thousands of people took to the streets demanding the president's departure. One of the most expressive was the one held in São Paulo on September 18, bringing together around 750 thousand people.

2013 protests

"It's not just twenty cents." Who does not remember this phrase that gave name to the demonstrations held in 2013 against the increase in bus fares? Four major protests took shape in the city of São Paulo in June.

However, students, journalists and demonstrators in general mobilized in several Brazilian cities. The protests took on large proportions and managed to reduce tariffs in some capitals.

Other marches were held after that, however, without such clear objectives. The fact is that they culminated in the political crisis resulting in another impeachment, this time of President Dilma Rousseff.

Demonstrations of 2016

Brazil took to the streets in 2016, once again, to ask for the departure of another ruler. More than three million people in 229 Brazilian cities.

The movement set up the biggest political act in history, surpassing Diretas Já. At that moment, the speech became more refined than in the editions of two years ago, demonstrating support for the Lava Jato Operation investigations and repudiating the PT government.