Brazil land activists, police clash at supermarket

Police in southern Brazil fired rubber bullets and tear gas Wednesday at protesters who tried to invade a supermarket to protest high food prices, part of widespread demonstrations across more than a dozen states.

Police commander Paulo Mendes Roberto Rodrigues said about 500 protesters in Porto Alegre were met by police in the parking lot of the supermarket and stopped from entering the store.

Protesters then threw rocks at officers, who responded with volleys of rubber bullets and tear gas, he said. The crowd dispersed but regrouped at a nearby plaza and blocked traffic on major roads.

Rodrigues said five demonstrators and six officers were injured, none seriously. About a dozen protesters were arrested.

Food prices in Brazil rose 2 percent in May, but rice jumped almost 20 percent in that time, the government's statistics agency said. Bread prices rose by 4.7 percent and meat climbed 3.5 percent, according to the report.

Earlier, about 200 activists from the same group _ Via Campesina landless farmers _ briefly overran a nearby eucalyptus plantation owned by one of Brazil's largest paper and pulp manufacturers.

The occupation of the Santa Maria eucalyptus plantation owned by Votorantim Celulose e Papel SA ended peacefully within a few hours when the protesters left the plantation, Rodrigues said.

Votorantim spokesman Rodrigo Bueno confirmed the occupation and the peaceful eviction, but said only 60 activists had invaded the property.

On Tuesday, thousands of rural workers invaded dams, railways, plantations and corporate headquarters in protests across 13 Brazilian states. Rodrigues said he expects protests to continue until the weekend. Also, 600 activists briefly occupied Votorantim's headquarters.

Via Campesina said in a statement that it is protesting multinationals and agribusiness corporations it blames for rising food prices.

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Associated Press Writer Marcos Sibaja contributed to this report from Brasilia.