A Brazilian court authorized the private transportation application by Uber, the U.S. ridesharing firm, in Rio de Janeiro, even though the Mayor’s Office had forbidden its use, official sources said on Friday.
A Rio court ruled that the Uber ban violated the right to free initiative included in the Brazil Constitution and the state cannot “prohibit a legal economic activity that is open to private initiative and free competition.”
The court issued a fine of 50,000 Brazilian Real (around 13,300 U.S. dollars) to the Rio authorities for impeding Uber in the city.
Uber has caused a great deal of controversy in Brazil, mainly in the two largest cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, where taxi drivers have continually protested against its application, saying it is an unfair competition.