Truck drivers set up a strike and consumers rush to fill up, causing shortages and queues of almost 1km at gas stations. The fear is that the new stoppage will generate rationing

The truck drivers' strike that began on Wednesday, the 8th, remains undetermined this morning (09/09), in at least 15 Brazilian states. Blockades on the highways by truck drivers are already beginning to have consequences. In the northern region of Santa Catarina, for example, gas stations in Joinville and São Bento do Sul ran out of gasoline and queues of up to 1km. The movement continues even after President Jair Bolsonaro's appeal for the category to release the blocked roads.

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According to reporters Israel Goldenstein and Rauston Naves, from Band, many drivers from the cities of Vale do Paraíba lined up at gas stations on Wednesday night (8) due to the fear that the new stoppage of truck drivers would lead to rationing, just like there was in 2018.

"Retention points in the northern region of Santa Catarina, where the mobilization threatened supply conditions, have already been released", informed the Ministry of Infrastructure, with information from the Federal Highway Police.

According to some leaders of the category, the guidelines defended in the demonstrations have in common the lowering of fuel prices, but there are others that are different from those proposed by truck drivers associations, such as support for President Jair Bolsonaro (without a party) against the Federal Supreme Court (STF). In common, the fight for the reduction in fuel prices, but with different political accusations.

The states with concentration points are: Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso, Goiás, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Tocantins, Rio de Janeiro, Rondônia, Maranhão, Roraima, São Paulo and Pará.

According to leaders heard by Band FM, there is no prediction of how long they will continue with the stoppage. Passenger vehicles, health care vehicles and vehicles with perishable cargo would be released to pass through the roadblock.

A video circulating on WhatsApp shows truck driver Marcos Antônio Pereira Gomes, known as “Zé Trovão”, asking for the closure of all Brazilian highways from six in the morning of this Thursday, September 9th. “Close everything, nothing else happens. Only ambulance, oxygen and medicine. It's over, there's nothing else going on, ”he said.

In 2018, truckers promoted a historic strike against the price of diesel

The demand from truck drivers, who even promoted a historic strike against diesel prices in 2018, follows constant complaints from President Bolsonaro himself about the cost of fuel.

In the letter sent to President Bolsonaro, the CNTRC asks the Government to adopt the taxation of crude oil exports “as an immediate measure”, while other claims must be analyzed, such as the end of the search for import parity.

“Resources arising from taxation on the export of crude oil may be used to compensate States and the Union in the reduction of taxes on fuel”, suggested the group of truck drivers.

The skyrocketing price of gasoline, ethanol, diesel and CNG makes drivers resort to biomethane fuel; fuel came to 'save' and ease the consumer's pocket

With each passing day, the prices of gasoline, ethanol and diesel increase, and, with that, Brazilians who work with passenger transport, such as taxi drivers and app drivers, who resort to Natural Gas Vehicle (GNV), are migrating to biomethane, since CNG is also starting to weigh on the pocket. Biogas can be used without problems in vehicles that have a gas kit.

Petrobras made a new readjustment in the price of CNG, increasing 39% for distributors. According to the survey carried out by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), in the last week of May, the price of vehicular gas to the final consumer already reached R$ 4,199 in some parts of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Given this, despite not being a new solution, biogas has become popular because it yields more and is cheaper.

Currently, only ten fuel stations in Rio de Janeiro offer biomethane CNG (biogas), but, according to Jorge Mathuiy, commercial director of the MAT cylinder industry, by the end of the year, this number should increase significantly, since the biomethane has a cheaper acquisition cost and is completely safe.

The great advantage of using biomethane is that, in addition to greater autonomy, the fuel offers greater safety, as it is lighter than air, and, in the event of a leak, the gas dissipates quickly, which reduces the risk of explosions. and fires. While alcohol ignites at 200ºC and gasoline at 300ºC, for biogas to ignite it needs to be subjected to a temperature above 620ºC.

Drivers still find it difficult to identify biomethane at gas stations. The tip is to ask the attendant if the option is available or check at the pump if the supplier is one of the companies that distribute the fuel, for example, Neogás.