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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 001402 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV ELAB PO
SUBJECT: BLOCKADE SPARKS PANIC AT THE PUMPS AND IN STORES 
 
LISBON 00001402  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (U) A three-day truckers' blockade protesting rising fuel 
costs triggered panic gas purchases as people flocked to fill 
their gas tanks before the supply ran out.  The blockade, 
which began on June 9, visibly affected southern Portugal, 
including Lisbon.  After just 48 hours, several supermarkets 
ran out of staples and the airport had to reroute some 
flights due to lack of refueling capabilities.  The GOP 
continued to negotiate with the truckers throughout the 
protest.  As a result of the good faith that GOP negotiators 
showed during talks, the truckers agreed to suspend the 
blockade and return to operations on June 12 while sector 
relief package negotiations continued.  End summary. 
 
Not going to take it anymore! 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) On June 9, roughly 5,000 independent truckers and 
employees from 75 transportation companies blocked roads 
throughout Portugal in a move coordinated with Spanish and 
French transporters.  The National Association of Public Road 
Merchandise Transporters (Antram), which coordinated the 
protest, said the move aimed to secure government relief from 
rising fuel prices.  Antram announced that, due to the price 
increases, Portuguese truckers' real purchasing power had 
declined by 3.9% this year and 9% over the last five years. 
Antram announced on June 10 that the protest would continue 
indefinitely, despite the reportedly attractive proposals 
that the GOP offered the group, but agreed on June 12 to 
suspend the blockade and return to operations while 
negotiating. 
 
¶3. (U) Antram was likely emboldened by the GOP's June 3 
concessions to the fisheries and agricultural sectors.  Prior 
to that, Portuguese fishermen had stopped fishing for four 
days and blocked all imports from Spain to protest rising 
fuel costs.  As a result, the GOP extended a special line of 
credit for the affected groups to help bolster liquidity and 
address higher production costs. 
 
Panicked?  Get in Line 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The Antram blockade was joined by several of the 
larger transport companies in Portugal and together they 
closed off passage through the main north-south corridor, 
effectively cutting off a major petroleum supply route to 
Lisbon and south-central Portugal on June 9.  That same day, 
Portuguese consumers began to panic and stock up on fuel; by 
June 11, many Lisbon gas stations had run dry, particularly 
of diesel (roughly 70% of Portugal's vehicles run on diesel). 
  Embassy employees observed long lines of up to a half a 
mile outside gas stations across southern Portugal and some 
gas stations on main roads closed for business. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Tiago Villas-Boas, an executive from Portugal's 
major petroleum company Galp, said the blockade also cut off 
supplies to Lisbon's airport, causing several flights to be 
rerouted to Porto and the island of Madeira.  He added that 
the panic buying had worsened the supply crisis.  Villas-Boas 
confirmed that Galp's supply was unaffected by the protest 
but admitted that the blockade had shut down the company's 
ability to distribute to almost half of Portugal. 
 
¶6. (U) In addition to the run on fuel, only two days into the 
blockade, major national grocery store chains Pingo Doce and 
Jumbo reported a significant drop in the availability of 
seafood and produce, and supermarkets in the Alentejo region 
announced shortages of water, seafood, red meat, and produce. 
 Grocery chain owners said even a few more days of the 
blockade would cause widespread food shortages, according to 
media reports.  Unlike the petroleum crisis, the supermarkets 
need supplies from a variety of small farmers and fishermen, 
so supplies will be limited as long as the blockade lasts. 
Minister of Health Ana Jorge confirmed to the press that the 
health sector had adequate supplies and was prepared for fuel 
shortages. 
 
Let's Make a Deal? 
------------------ 
 
      ¶7. (U) As the fuel panic began on June 9, Minister of 
Public Works and Transportation Mario Lino offered several 
concessions, including reduced road toll charges, incentives 
for updating truck fleets, and a 10% reduction in truck 
taxes.  The only demand the GOP reportedly rejected was 
directly reducing fuel costs for professional transporters. 
By June 11, Lino turned up the rhetorical heat, calling for 
 
LISBON 00001402  002 OF 002 
 
 
the truckers to consider the impact of their actions on 
Portugal's economy and the nation in general.  Even when 
Antram agreed to suspend the blockade while negotiations 
continue, it stressed that some of its demands remained unmet. 
 
¶8. (U)  The leftist General Confederation of Portuguese 
Workers (CGTP) union, responsible for several recent strikes 
protesting Portugal's working conditions, denounced the 
blockade.  Although the union criticizes the government's 
lack of policy proposals in response to rising fuel costs, 
CGTP's Public Relations Representative Lucy Moniz told us the 
blockade was only making things worse for the most vulnerable 
in the economy.  Leftist opposition parties, however, 
criticized the GOP for "closing their eyes to the crisis" and 
called for special measures to reduce the price by capping 
the profits of oil companies.  Not surprisingly, the public's 
reaction to the blockade was largely negative.  Several 
truckers reported being attacked with stones while sitting in 
their vehicles blocking a road.  One trucker manning a 
blockade was killed on June 10 when he attempted to stop a 
truck from passing. 
 
A Good Plan Goes Bad 
-------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Comment: Antram's insistence on lower fuel prices in 
the face of the GOP's offers has begun to work against it. 
The only demand that the GOP has refused was a price discount 
for fuel used for transport, since the GOP has no control 
over the retail prices and would have to pay for any subsidy 
out of the already tight budget.  While the public is 
generally sympathetic to the sectors hurt by rising fuel 
prices, they are even more frustrated with the problems 
caused by the blockade.  We find it unlikely that the 
government will support concessions at the expense of ongoing 
economic reforms, especially since it could encourage future 
protests in other industries.  The GOP is more likely to 
create a package of benefits for the transportation industry, 
much as they did for fishermen.  End comment. 
Stephenson