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Reuters
SAO PAULO
A truckers protest over diesel prices in Brazil that is hurting supplies of fuel, food and medicines continued for the sixth day on Saturday despite President Michel Temer ordering the military to clear blocked roads the day before.
Major cities have declared a state of emergency as gas stations and airports ran out of fuel, supermarket shelves went bare and hospitals said they were running out of supplies. Public transport and trash collection were reduced or halted across the country and prices for some food items jumped.
The government said there were fewer blockades on major highways across the country on Saturday compared to Friday. However, the main entity representing truckers, ABCAM, said they have not changed their main argument that they will call off protests only when federal taxes over diesel are scrapped. Negotiators for several trucker groups initially agreed on Thursday to suspend the protests as the government vowed to subsidize and stabilize diesel prices, which may cost 5 billion reais ($1.4 billion) this year.
To win over truckers the government promised to extend for 30 days a 10-percent diesel price cut announced by state-led oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA.
But truckers say they want a definitive solution, saying they will end the protest only when a decision to eliminate federal diesel taxes is published in the official gazette. There were no reports of violence, but main roads remained blocked in the morning, including a key transport ring around Sao Paulo, the country's largest city.
