11 arrested in Mato Grosso after terror on highways

This Tuesday (22), 18 blocks were registered on the federal highways of Mato Grosso, eight total and ten partial. The acts are a reflection of anti-democratic and criminal actions that have been intensified in the state since last Thursday (17). Until the afternoon of this Tuesday, 11 people were arrested and five points in the BRs were still interdicted.

Weapons, ammunition, dynamites, wood, bricks, slingshots, stones, gasoline and vehicles were some of the devices used by Bolsonaristas, who do not accept the result of the elections for president. Since last Friday (18), Mato Grosso has registered an escalation of violence on BR-163.

According to the Federal Highway Police of Mato Grosso, the suspects used explosives in an attempt to knock down the Rio Vermelho bridge, in Diamantino, 180 kilometers from Cuiabá. According to police, the bridge was not damaged to the point of needing to be closed.

The violent acts in Mato Grosso also involved an attack on a user service station on the Rota Oeste, on BR 163, in the Lucas do Rio Verde region. At the scene, a tow truck and an ambulance were set on fire. Those involved used ninja weapons and burrows, as well as gasoline cans.

An employee of the Via Brasil concessionaire, which manages the stretch of BR 163 between Sinop (MT) and Miritituba (PA), was even surrendered and his car was used to block the highway.

Protesters set fire to two trucks, damaged vehicles and stretches of asphalt, assaulted drivers, threw oil on the road, slashed tires, disengaged trucks and fired shots to scare anyone trying to break through the roadblocks.

At least 50 members of the movement have been identified and must answer for their participation in criminal acts.

According to the communication coordinator of the Federal Highway Police, Cristiano Vasconcellos, the violence in the demonstrations demanded a joint action between the state police and a reorganization in the planning of releases, centralized in a crisis office.

The riot police also participated in the action, but it was not necessary to use force, nor pepper spray or rubber bullets, says the PRF.

According to Vasconcellos, all the infrastructure they took was removed: there were tents, chemical toilets, food and even a container.

“Some demonstration points remain off the highway, but without any infrastructure to stay overnight. We have teams in place to maintain the point”, he says.

To clear the lanes, heavy machinery was used, such as excavators and winches. “It is a complex operation, which has already resulted in 11 arrests and R$ 3 million in fines applied.”

Other states

On federal roads in Rondônia, there was a partial ban on three stretches of BR 364 (at kilometers 938, 1040, 1070) and also at kilometer 96 of BR 425, in Nova Mamoré. At the end of the afternoon, only one of the points, in Vista Alegre do Abunã, was still closed.

In Paraná, there is a partial interdiction point on the BR 277, kilometer 720, in Foz do Iguaçu. In the second, there was a partial interdiction of the same BR 277, in the region of Céu Azul and Medianeira, and close to the Port of Paranaguá, where a total blockage of the lane, at kilometer 6, lasted 12 hours and resulted in 13 kilometers of congestion. On the state highways of Paraná there was no record of blockages this Tuesday.