Two killed in Spanish, Portuguese truck strikes over fuel prices

June 11, 2008

Strikes and protests by truck drivers in Spain and Portugal over fuel prices have led to two deaths. One trucker was killed on Portugal when he tried to stop a truck crossing picket lines by climbing onto the side of the truck, but fell under the wheels. Later in the day, a trucker was killed when he was run over by a van near the southern city of Granada. The protests have led to fuel shortages, a halt on arrivals of fresh foods into Lisbon and Madrid, and a 50 percent cut in production at Spanish automakers. French railway workers are expected to join the strike this week, while Spanish fisherman are continuing their own strike against high fuel prices.

Fuel protest and riot background

Food-related protests have received the lion’s share of the headlines, but fuel riots and protests have continued to pop up in Asia, Africa and Europe, leading to at least three confirmed deaths.

In Africa earlier this year, fuel riots broke out in Mozambique, as scientists in Africa have called for a moratorium on new biofuels projects, saying that large-plantation tracts granted to biofuels companies smack of colonial-era policies. Africa is expected to suffer the most from climate change, and maize production could drop by 33 percent by 2028, according to Stanford University.

In China, fuel riots broke out last October because of shortages, leading one confirmed death in Shanghai. The shortages are affecting Shanghai, the southeast coastal provinces, and are spreading to the interior. Diesel is fixed-priced at $2.42 in China, about one third of the price in European markets, and fuel companies are getting squeezed by soaring crude oil costs, leading to production cutbacks and allocations. Prices have not been raised for 17 months despite crude oil rices nearly doubling. Meanwhile, ethanol producers are also under pressure in China from high costs, and from a government shutdown of new ethanol production projects owing to the effect of ethanol demand on food prices.

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Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under International