MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil's Police not happy with President's undelivered promises - strikes coming up

The police union found it “shameful” of Bolsonaro not to honor his own word

Brazil's Federal Police will stage “partial and progressive” strikes in light of President Jair Bolsonaro's unfulfilled promises regarding salaries and promotion schemes, the National Association of Federal Police Commissioners (ADPF, for its acronym in Portuguese) said in a statement.

The organization also called after a meeting Tuesday for the resignation of Justice Minister Anderson Torres, whose “disrespectful treatment” they decried.

The conflict with the ADPF has been on the President's agenda since December when Bolsonaro announced a wage increase that is yet to occur.

The union also protested against Bolsonaro's “preference” for the Federal Police and also called for a series of staggering strikes, which continue until today in various agencies, such as the Central Bank.

The ADPF also underlined “the seriousness of the moment and the positioning of the President who, after having publicly committed himself to the budget and the restructuring” of the promotion plans, “has decided not to honor his own word.”

The document also stressed that public safety was the biggest banner in Bolsonaro's 2018 campaign and stressed it was “shameful” on the part of the head of state not to respect “the values of ethics, word, and honor.”

The “calendar of partial and progressive stoppages” will be announced in the coming days, the ADPF also explained.

The threat of a strike by the Federal Police and the stoppages already underway in other public agencies comes at a time when Bolsonaro is preparing to run for reelection in October, despite trailing former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) in all polls.