[Brazil] Riots: Violent demonstration

Supply-chain Risk Briefing

1) Summary On March 20, residents of the Barra Nova area in Marechal Deodoro, Alagoas state, Brazil, staged protests blocking the AL-101 highway in response to a 10-day water supply outage. Protesters conducted violent demonstrations by burning objects on the road, but the incident is classified as 'low' grade, indicating limited scale and persistence.

2) Supply-chain impact

• Regional logistics disruption: The AL-101 highway blockade temporarily cut off land transport connecting coastal and inland areas of Alagoas state, potentially causing short-term delays in regional freight transport
• Agricultural sector risk: Alagoas state is a major sugarcane production region in Brazil, and continued water supply disruption could negatively impact agricultural productivity and processing facility operations
• Manufacturing operation disruption: Risk of operational shutdowns due to water shortages essential for production processes and cooling water supply at regional manufacturing facilities
• Reduced labor force stability: If public discontent spreads due to basic infrastructure shortages, potential long-term impact on labor supply and operational stability of regional manufacturing and logistics facilities

3) Watch points

• Water supply restoration progress: Need to assess the likelihood of continued protests based on local government's water facility restoration schedule and establishment of alternative water supply measures
• Road blockade persistence: Monitoring required for when AL-101 highway traffic returns to normal and whether similar protests spread to other regions