Strike Triggers Rio Protest; 2 Killed and 85 Hurt

A police spokesman said Thursday that two people were killed and about 85 were injured in disturbances that broke out among angry commuters when a strike interrupted urban train service at the main railway station of this Brazilian city.

Striking railroad engineers stopped urban trains Wednesday night as thousands of commuters were trying to get home. Protesting commuters then clashed with private railroad police at the Central Station in downtown Rio.

In an attempt to break up the angry crowd, railroad policemen began firing their weapons into the air. As the disturbances continued, two people were fatally wounded, according to the state investigative police. There was no official word on how many of the 85 injured were shot, but newspapers reported that as many as 18 had bullet wounds.

Luiz Carlos de Souza, a spokesman for the private company that operates the urban railway system, said there were reports of shots fired from the crowd, as well as by the railway police. The Rio de Janeiro state security department started an investigation.

The rampaging commuters broke windows and equipment in the Central Station and in several trains. The destructive action then spread to the streets, and a number of cars and buses were damaged.

State riot police were sent to the station but did not arrive until after the disturbances had died down.

The engineers’ wildcat strike is the latest in a wave of shutdowns organized by Brazilian labor unions following a surge of inflation that has eroded workers’ buying power.

The engineers’ strike continued Thursday, but no further disturbances were reported. Army troops guarded several stations, deploying tanks at one.

Other workers who have gone on strike in recent weeks include merchant seamen, garbage collectors, bank clerks and teachers.

Inflation this year has been calculated at 17% for January, 14% for February and at least 12% for March. Unions complain that salaries are not keeping pace.

In February, 1986, President Jose Sarney froze prices and decreed generous salary increases, giving workers the means for a consumption spree that lasted several months.

The increased domestic demand made fewer goods available for export, and officially fixed exchange rates made exports less profitable. As a result, Brazil’s trade surplus and foreign currency reserves fell sharply.

After the government dismantled the price-freeze program, inflation surged and consumption declined. Some economists contend that a recession is starting.

On Feb. 20, Sarney suspended interest payments on Brazil’s debt to private foreign banks.

Finance Minister Dilson Funaro is in the United States discussing the debt suspension with some of Brazil’s creditors. He was quoted in Brazilian newspapers Thursday as insisting that Brazil will not accept a debt repayment plan that sacrifices economic growth.

“We are not discussing a loan,” Funaro said. “We are discussing the future of the Brazilian people.”

Brazil’s economic troubles have led to widespread demands for Funaro’s resignation. On Wednesday the governors of four Brazilian states, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso do Sul, called for Cabinet changes that would include Funaro’s removal.

All four of the governors are members of Sarney’s party.