Police on strike target carnival celebration

 SALVADOR (AP):

Disgruntled police across Brazil are taking aim at the country's iconic carnival celebration, raising threats to the annual street parties that draw hordes of foreigners as a way to press their demands for pay raises.

Police officers already on strike in Salvador and holed up in a legislature building in the northeastern state capital brandished fists Tuesday while chanting "Finish off Carnival!"

The threat to carnival celebrations in Salvador looked increasingly serious as talks with the Bahia state government stalled on the eighth day of the police strike and hopes faded the stand-off would be resolved well before the start of festivities next week.

Adding to anxieties, a Brazilian newspaper said police and other public workers in eight other states, including carnival showcase Rio de Janiero, were threatening to join the strike.

"It's clear there can't be Carnival this year," said Iosvaldo Cardoso de Jesus, a 35-year-old striking Bahia state police officer protesting in front of the state legislature to support his estimated 300 colleagues holding the building.