Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Honking horns and blowing whistles, left-wing demonstrators brought the center of the Brazilian capital to a standstill Wednesday as they protested tough budget cuts the government announced to shore up the fragile economy.
Public servants and representatives of the landless and the labor movement denounced President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. A poll showed the majority of Brazilians agree the spending cuts and tax hikes were necessary.
Some 33,000 public servants face firings under the $18 billion fiscal-adjustment package announced Monday. It includes a 10 percent income-tax hike, a new $90 airport-departure tax and mass public-sector layoffs in order to restore investor confidence in Latin America’s largest economy.
