International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 2, Spring 2020 | Page 91
Military Police Strike
International Journal on Criminology
In Brazil’s very recent history, multiple military police officer strikes have taken
place in relation to salary demands. In February 2017, for example, the
Military Police of the state of Espírito Santo ceased its activities, provoking an
explosion of violence, in particular in relation to organized crime.
In response, the state governor solicited the support of the federal government,
which deployed the National Public Security Force and then the armed
forces in order to restore order, particularly in the capital Vitória. Their concrete
operations involved “classic” police work: street patrols, controlling civil disturbances,
and so on. The people of Espírito Santo largely supported this initiative
and complied with the orders of the Brazilian Army, which allowed calm to be
restored until the state’s Military Police returned to work.
A very similar situation occurred in the state of Rio Grande do Norte at
the end of 2017.
Truck Driver Strike
In May and June 2018, unions representing self-employed truck drivers coordinated
a blockage of the country’s highways, preventing the transport of
goods and people. The chaos was such that people in every region of the country
started to suffer from shortages of basic consumer goods and medicines.
The President of the Republic, Michel Temer, then requested the use of the
armed forces in order to guarantee the free circulation of people and the most
essential goods for the population and infrastructure.
There was a risk of confrontations with the truck drivers, whose demands
concerning fuel prices were echoed by some of the general population. But, happily,
negotiations allowed the armed forces to ensure minimal provisioning of
cities.
During the strike, the Brazilian Army performed no fewer than 948 vehicle
escorts, 574 of those with the support of other government agencies or public
security agencies. It also escorted 14,947 tanker trucks transporting diesel, gasoline,
or biofuel (around 500 million liters of fuel), 455 tanker trucks transporting
kerosene for aviation (a little more than 3 million liters of kerosene), 1,000 trucks
transporting canisters of domestic gas, 753 food trucks, and 462 trucks carrying
medicines and hospital equipment.
Once again, the armed forces thus demonstrated to Brazilian society their
“calm diligence” in the accomplishment of a mission, in accordance with their
commitment to avoiding confrontation and seeking conciliation.
82