Weekly Report - 05 October 2023 (WR-23-40)

Workers from the metro and rail systems in Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo, and the state’s water utility company (Sabesp) launched a 24-hour strike on 3 October to protest against plans from the state government to privatise the transport and utilities services. São Paulo state governor Tarcísio de Freitas, who served as federal infrastructure minister under the right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023), has spoken of the benefits of further privatisation, and on 3 October he said that the workers’ strike was “illegal” and politically motivated.