A general strike is sweeping Brazil this Friday for the second time this year. Why? Because Brazilian President Michel Temer, despite appalling approval ratings, is going ahead with proposals that would weaken labor laws and slash the country’s social security safety net.

The general strike is organized by the Central Worker’s Union, Popular Brasil, Fearless People, and a host of other social movements and worker’s unions, with protests planned to fill the streets Friday to demand his removal from office.

Various sectors will be participating, especially workers in refineries, operating platforms and distribution centers of state oil company Petrobras.

According to trade union sources, the strike will be held in Sao Paulo and the Federal District of Brasilia by metroviaries, bus drivers and drivers, bankers, public and private school teachers, and federal public servants, among others.

It is expected that in the federal capital, the public transport system that serves around 1 million people daily will be shut down for 24 hours.

There are also actions coordinated in Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, Paraná, Rio Grande do Norte, Maranhao, Ceará, Matto Grosso and Rio Grande del Sur, among other states.

While the impetus of the general strike is based on opposing Temer’s reforms, the overwhelming majority of Brazilians, 93 percent according to the latest Ipsos poll, reject Temer’s presidency.

Labor reforms proposed by Temer include the elimination of payment for worker’s commute from their contracts, a reduction in employer compensation for abuse, and allowing employers to reduce workers’ salaries while increasing their work hours.

While Temer’s vision of new labor laws would increase work hours, his radical proposal for pension reform would scrap the average retirement age of 54, making it mandatory that women retire at 62 and men at 65. He’s also proposing a 20-year freeze on public spending.

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