The workers of the container and coal terminals, at the Port of Itaguaí of the Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) in Brazil, and union leaders who were fighting for salary adjustment and better working conditions, were surprised by the arrival of police forces on 31 May 2022, who made threats and prevented them from striking. The police, who had been called by CSN’s management, even prevented the leadership team of the Union of Port Workers of Rio de Janeiro and the workers’ commission from talking to the workers at the entrance of the port.
Murders
Rildanio Ramos Barros, President of the Union of Workers in Family Farming in Brazil, and former Secretary of Agriculture of the city of Parnarama, was brutally murdered on 18 July 2022. The 34-year-old was shot 13 times by unidentified gunmen. Three suspects were arrested in November and investigations were still ongoing to determine the motive for the murder. However, according to the Civil Police, the crime may have been linked to land conflicts and Rildanio Ramos Barro’s union work.