Brazil federal government freezes Rio bank accounts

Brazil federal government freezes Rio bank accounts

5 hours ago

The Brazilian government has frozen the bank accounts of Rio de Janeiro state, ordering it to pay millions of dollars in overdue debt.

Many public workers have not been paid in months. Rio de Janeiro has been struggling with a long-standing financial crisis because of a drop in global oil and commodity prices.

It declared a financial emergency ahead of the Rio Olympics earlier this year.

State governor Luiz Fernando Pezao announced austerity measures last week.

He said that unless they were approved, the state could not guarantee that workers would receive their full salaries next year.

The Rio financial secretariat said the state was "blocked from making any kind of payment until the amount it owes the state has been paid".

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37905502