Rio de Janeiro, Oct 20 (EFE).- A group of taxi drivers took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday to protest a ruling by a state judge suspending a municipal ordinance in the Brazilian city that banned the use of the Uber ride-sharing application to hire private vehicles.

Taxi drivers gathered at Santos Dumont Airport, located near downtown Rio de Janeiro, and headed to the Copacabana district, occupying two of the three lanes of the Aterro de Flamengo, an expressway that runs through some of the most important parts of the city.

The protest was staged in response to Judge Monica Ribeiro Teixeira’s ruling last Thursday that the city ordinance banning Uber violated the constitution.

The judge said in her ruling that the government cannot “prohibit a legal economic activity, open to private initiative and free competition.”

Officials who prevent Uber drivers from working in Rio de Janeiro will be subject to fines of up to 50,000 reais (about $13,300), the judge said.

The Rio de Janeiro City Council approved the ordinance banning Uber in August.

Taxi drivers in Rio and other cities across Brazil declared war on Uber drivers months ago and there have been several cases of violence and even kidnappings.

Police looked on Tuesday as taxi drivers protested amid a festive atmosphere.

Some drivers, however, honked their horns when they spotted vehicles similar to those being used by the ride-sharing app in the city. EFE