Over 20,000 workers on strike in Brazil

Over 20,000 workers of Brazilian state-controlled company Petrobras are on a national strike in protest against the dismissal of workers and the privatization of public assets.

In mid-January, the far-right President Jair Bolsonaro announced the closure of the Parana Nitrogen Fertilizer Factory, a Petrobras subsidiary in which more than 1,000 people worked. The response of the Brazilian working class, however, was immediate.

On 1 February, the Single Federation of Tankers (FUP) and the Workers' Single Central (CUT) began an indefinite strike.

After 11 days in a row, the strike brought together workers from 43 oil platforms, 11 refineries, 18 terminals, 7 land oil fields, 5 thermoelectric plants, 3 administrative bases, 3 units for gas processing, 1 petrochemical complex, and 1 biofuel plant, among other facilities.

In an attempt to contain the workers' unity process, the Bolsonaro administration tried to hire former employees to replace the strikers but the measure was unsuccessful.