BRASILIA: Brazilian President Michel Temer ordered security forces Friday to clear roads blocked by truckers staging a five-day-old strike that has left the country virtually paralyzed.
"The government has had the courage to dialogue, the government will have the courage to exert its authority," he said in a televised address.
The truckers pressed on with the strike Friday, despite a deal between the government and unions late Thursday to suspend the protest for 15 days.
Temer said he had "mobilized the security forces" to clear the roads.
"We are not going to permit that the population does not have access to essential goods... that hospitals do not have the necessary medicines to save lives."
"We accepted the 12 main demands of the truckers, who agreed to immediately end the blockades. Unfortunately, a radical minority continues to block the roads."