Anti-austerity strike snarls cities across Brazil

Major transport networks, schools and banks partially shut down across much of Brazil today in what protesters called a general strike against austerity reforms in Latin America's biggest country.
Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous city and financial powerhouse, was worst hit.
Police used tear gas to clear highways of protesters. But bus services, the metro and trains all stopped working, bringing the city temporarily to a standstill.
In Rio de Janeiro, protesters lit fires on a major bridge, disrupting commuter traffic, while police used tear gas to force a small crowd of protesters from outside the main bus station. Many banks were shut.

However, the city appeared to be less affected, with private businesses such as restaurants, cafes and shops opening normally.
In the capital Brasilia and in Belo Horizonte, another major city, the metro systems were completely closed down. Curitiba, the city where Brazil's huge "Operation Car Wash" anti-corruption investigation is based, was left without bus services.

Unions and leftwing organisations called for the general strike to oppose center right President Michel Temer's push for a sharp reduction in pension benefits and other austerity reforms.
The strike appeared to be having greatest effect in heavily unionised parts of the economy, including transportation, schools, the post office and some hospital staff.

A spokesman for the National Civil Aviation Agency told AFP that "operations at the airports are functioning normally."
However, there were multiple reports of delayed or cancelled flights. At Congonhas, one of the airports serving busy Sao Paulo, the departures board carried numerous notices of cancellations.
At Sao Paulo's international airport, Guarulhos, only a handful of flights were delayed, the airport said in a statement.
Police deployed in large numbers to protect government buildings in Brasilia ahead of demonstrations planned later in the day.
Temer has said that without severe fiscal discipline and belt tightening, Latin America's biggest economy will not be able to exit a two-year recession.

The most controversial measure is to raise the retirement age to 65 for men and 62 for women, up from 60 and 55 at present.
The government is also pushing for a liberalisation of labor laws and has succeeded in getting Congress to pass a 20 -year spending freeze.
The struggle over austerity comes against a backdrop of ever worsening conditions for ordinary Brazilians, even if government officials say the economy is slowly turning the corner.