Truckers of all countries, unite!

In Canada, truckers have revolted, moving from British Columbia (Pacific coast) to Ottawa, where the so-called Freedom Convoy has brought the federal capital to a standstill, amidst whistles and the resulting traffic congestion. The reason for their anger is the new requirements for truck drivers crossing the border into the United States on a daily basis. 

The requirement, which had been announced in November, was initially waived - erroneously, the government argues - by the Border Services Agency, but went into effect on 15 January. It imposes two obligations on unvaccinated truckers: they are required to take a COVID-19 test upon return to the country, after which they must be quarantined for 10 days. In view of the frequency of cross-border movements, this is tantamount to perennial isolation for the unvaccinated.

It is difficult to say how many protesters there are: some say 250,000, but the Toronto police, observing the trucks heading for Ottawa, put the figure at 50,000, which has so far been disputed by PolitiFact, a US website with a strong Democratic bias.

Be that as it may, the protesters have garnered massive support: through the donation platform GoFundMe, which later suspended the campaign, they raised 10 million Canadian dollars (7.9 million US dollars), and the Conservative Party (opposition), in full swing to the right, has seen fit to question Liberal Prime Minister Trudeau, who took refuge in a "secret location" as the truckers entered the capital, only to say he had COVID-19.

Canada is the second largest country in the world, but 66% of its population resides within 100 kilometres of the southern border, i.e. a supermajority occupies only 4% of the territory. The US is, of course, its main trading partner, especially in agriculture, and Canadian supermarkets are supplied with US products; indeed, Canada imported $24 billion worth of US agricultural products (2019). The country, a major exporter of live cattle, has a trade deficit in processed foods.

Truckers, who accuse the government of worsening product shortages, have also tried to demonstrate at the border. They are right: 10-20% (12,000-20,000) of Canadian truckers are not vaccinated; neither are 40% (16,000) of US truckers crossing the border, except that the new regulations prohibit them from entering Canada.

It may seem a provincial affair - few of us think of Canada, let's face it - but the US-Canada trade relationship is one of the most important in the world, with a volume of $718.4 billion (2019). There is also the other member of the T-MEC (NAFTA's successor): Mexico. Canada is, after the US, the main market for its exports. Even in 2020, a year that has been convoluted by the pandemic and the entry into force of the new treaty, the volume of trade amounted to 36 billion dollars.

The North American truck driver, whether American or Canadian, occupies a strange link. He is obviously working class, and his work, complicated by the need to frequently cross the width of a continent, is undoubtedly arduous. Nevertheless, he is an excellent example of the prosperous worker, the kulak of this century: the most successful can even aspire to 100,000 Canadian dollars.

They also vote as a bloc: the prairie provinces - Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan - have the most truckers per capita, and all are governed by regional Conservative parties. Canada's idiosyncratic politics is characterised by no federal party power at the provincial level, but sympathies extend to Parliament in Ottawa.

Alberta, the largest of the aforementioned regions, is oil-rich and arguably the most conservative region in the country; like Texas, it is given to separatist trappings. Indeed, the strategy of endless truck convoys was already deployed in 2019, when it was used to protest Ottawa's refusal to build pipelines.

All this is reminiscent of the now forgotten Brazilian protests of September 2021. In that instance, the truckers mobilised in favour of President Bolsonaro, then under investigation by the Supreme Court; they participated in at least 110 blockades in 14 Brazilian states and did not relent until Bolsonaro asked them to desist.

In Brazil, where domestic transport is expensive, 60% of goods are transported by road. Moreover, the country's 696,000 truckers do not hesitate to call strikes; in 2018, the port of Santos - the busiest in Latin America - was rocked by one, causing the port losses of R$1.5 billion ($400 million at the time) in just 11 days.

We note, not without some mischief, that, across the continent, truck convoys are proving to be an effective method of protest. In the meantime, the truckers confirm both their new role as hammers of the right and their economic importance. Without them, the functioning of supply chains is inconceivable, especially in the American giants.

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