Brazilian officials give Bolsonaro a wake-up call with a work stoppage

An image of the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, this Tuesday in the protests of the officials to demand a salary increase. UESLEI MARCELINO (REUTERS)

The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, opened the box of thunder a few weeks ago by announcing a salary increase for federal police officers. With this measure, the president shoots himself in the foot because other groups of officials shouted in the sky, demanded an equivalent increase and this Tuesday they have made work stoppages to pressure the president, who has until Friday to ratify the budgets generals. The initiative came from the elite of the civil service, from the union that brings together categories such as auditors or diplomats.

The discontent among public sector workers opens a new front for the Brazilian president, who is already under pressure due to inflation, unemployment, the reluctance of international investors - one of the largest funds in the world, Black Rock, has announced that only will invest here again if the government changes—, and Lula da Silva's comfortable lead in the polls for next October's elections, among other things.

They have also stopped public employees from Congress, the Judiciary and the Central Bank. They demand increases of more than 20% after years without salary updating. The nod to the police, combined with an inflation that closed 2021 with 10%, has overwhelmed the patience of the group. There have been some small protest demonstrations in front of the ministries, in Brasilia, but the main mobilization has consisted of two-hour strikes or extreme zeal in the bureaucratic processes, lengthening the procedures to draw attention to their salary demands. Whether its effect is felt at borders or airports remains to be seen.

Before Christmas, Bolsonaro promised federal police officers, highway patrol agents and prison guards an increase of 1.7 billion reais (300 million dollars, 270 million euros) to public coffers. The president wants to keep them happy because they are part of his most loyal electoral base. But together with the pressure from the rest of the officials to avoid a comparative grievance, the president is also pressured to rule out any salary increase so as not to aggravate the situation of the public accounts. The government has managed to temporarily skip the spending ceiling, but there is fear among the most liberal that Bolsonaro embarks on a waste with his sights set on the elections.

“Bolsonaro ignores the basic political calculation in the telenovela of (salary) readjustment,” writes columnist Bruno Boghossian in

, explaining that the president's determination to ensure the loyalty of his hard core, in the absence of great government achievements and with a limited budget, it has led to the rest of the public employees feeling aggrieved.

The unions have announced new strikes for next week and do not rule out a general strike if Bolsonaro does not respond to their demands.

Meanwhile, the police have also warned the far-right president that if he does not fulfill what he promised, they will consider themselves betrayed.

The Brazilian federal government has 1.2 million public employees.

Some of them earn enviable salaries for the average Brazilian.

Central Bank analysts begin their careers at the institution with a salary that is 20 times the minimum wage, while that of Treasury employees is 27 times higher, according to data published by the

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