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Sao Paulo • Public transport largely came to a halt across much of Brazil on Friday as protesters blocked roads and scuffled with police in a general strike to protest proposed changes to labor laws and the pension system.
President Michel Temer's administration argues that more flexible labor rules will revive a moribund economy and warns the pension system will go bankrupt without changes. Unions and other groups called for the strike, saying that the changes before congress will make workers too vulnerable and strip away too many benefits.
In Sao Paulo, the country's largest city, only one metro line of six was working during the height of morning commute, and all buses stayed off the roads. Two other metro lines began offering partial service later. In Rio de Janeiro, buses ran partial service.
Protesters in both cities set up roadblocks. Police used tear gas to break up protesters blocking roads to Congonhas Airport, the smaller of Sao Paulo's two airports. A group of homeless people and activists blocked a road to the larger Guarulhos Airport. Both, however, were open.
"There was a blockade for about an hour, but it was removed," said Barbara Castro, a sociology professor who was flying to Lima, Peru, out of Guarulhos on Friday morning. She arrived well before her 8 a.m. flight because she was expecting delays, as did many of her fellow passengers.
"They didn't stop the airport, but I hope that they stop the rest of the country," she said.
Protesters at Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro created confusion by running through the terminal and pushing down the line dividers at check-in counters. Also in Rio, protesters scuffled with police as they blocked a major road.
Brazil's economy is in a deep recession, and many Brazilians are frustrated with Temer's government. Temer has argued that the proposed changes will benefit Brazilians in the long run. But with so many out of work, many feel they can ill afford any cuts to their benefits.
Underscoring the economic malaise, the IBGE statistics agency announced on Friday that unemployment had jumped to 13.7 percent in the first quarter of the year, up from 12 percent.
"Here in Brazil [the politicians] are robbing the workers' rights with these pension and labor reforms," said union leader Reginal de Souza. "We are here to say this is enough and that we are against all this nonsense that the government ... is doing to the workers and to all the Brazilian people."