Ten Days of Protest

                                                    .   Ten Days of Protest

  Imagine if all the trucks in Brazil suddenly stopped moving, that is what happened in

2018 and caused paralyzation for ten days. In May 2018, truckers from all over the country

stopped their truckers on the highway and stayed there for ten days. The reason was to promote a

protest because the diesel increased by 50% in twelve months. The protesters demanded a

reduction of taxes. This manifestation was also a form of protest against the corrupt government

at the time. The 2018 Brazilian truckers strike caused problems for my family fish business,

leading to financial difficulties, and impacting our family relationships.

  Brazil's dependence on trucks for daily transportation, with 60% of goods traveling by

road, the protest had a huge impact on the country. When the strike began, Brazilian people

started to see the effects of the strike at the very beginning. People could not go to their

workplaces or school. Medication, gasoline, and food started to disappear in the first days of the

protest. All kinds of businesses and people started to suffer the consequences of the strike, and

the economy in Brazil also began to decline.

In addition, my family business was one of the companies that had to deal with the

consequences of the trucker’s strike. My family has a fish company. They fish, and then the

company imports and exports the fish to various continents, like North America, Asia, and

Europe. Because of the protest, some of our trucks with fish inside got stuck on the highway. The

company had to deal with angry clients, debts, and loss of clients due to the non-delivery of fish

because of the strike. The company also lost a lot of goods. No one in the company was

expecting the strike to be that big. It was a surprise event, that brought serious consequences to

Brazil in only ten days.

  However, the financial burden was not the only bad consequence that the strike brought

for my family and me, it also impacted my family dynamics. My grandfather started the

company when he was in his twenties, he started selling fish in the street, and with a lot of effort,

he was able to create his own business. Since I was young, I saw the love that all my family has

for the company, so when they saw the consequences of the manifestation things changed

quickly. My grandparents used to live in Florida. They enjoyed it a lot, but because of the

problems, and to work more accurately, my grandparents had to go back to live in Brazil. It was

a difficult time for my grandparents to go back to Brazil because of business problems. They

were never able to go back to living in Florida because COVID-19 started, and when it ended,

they were too old to continue there alone. The results of the manifestation caused a lot of stress

in my family, especially to my grandparents who are very attached to the company and had to

give up from their life in Florida.

  In conclusion, the trucker's strike was an event that affected all of Brazil. The country had

to deal with the consequences of the strike, making the economy worse, and the lack of food,

medication, and gasoline was a difficult situation for everyone. Additionally, it causes emotional

and economic problems for my family. The company had to deal with high debts, and angry

clients for a while because of the manifestation, and my grandparents and father suffered a lot

emotionally to see the the company going badly. Even though we had those bad moments, my

family rebuilt, and my grandparents are now better, and happy to be close to their family.