Yahoo – AFP,
Laura Bonilla Cal, Natalia Ramos, 16 March 2015
 |
Demonstrators
protest against the government of President Dilma Rousseff in
Paulista Avenue
in Sao Paulo, Brazil on March 15, 2015 (AFP Photo/Nelson Almeida)
|
Sao Paulo
(AFP) - About 1.5 million protesters hit the streets across Brazil on Sunday in
a major show of anger against leftist President Dilma Rousseff, who faces
crises from a faltering economy to a massive corruption scandal at state oil
giant Petrobras.
Many called
for the impeachment of Rousseff, less than six months after she was narrowly
returned to power in the most bitterly fought presidential race since the end
of a military dictatorship in 1985.
The biggest
demonstration took place in Sao Paulo, where a million people rallied --
according to police estimates -- many in the distinctive yellow and green of
Brazil's national football team. The city -- South America's biggest, and
Brazil's business and industrial hub -- is a stronghold of opposition to
Rousseff.
 |
A
demonstrator with his face painted in the colours of the Brazilian national
flag and a message reading "Dilma out" takes part in a rally to
protest against
the government in Rio de Janeiro on March 15, 2015 (AFP
Photo/Christophe Simon)
|
Peaceful
demonstrations also took place in 83 cities and towns around the country,
including major protests in the capital Brasilia and in Rio de Janeiro.
The numbers
matched the vast rallies that roiled Brazil in June 2013, when protesters angry
at the cost of hosting the 2014 World Cup demanded an end to corruption and
more spending on transportation, health and education.
"We
are thousands and thousands of people who demand the impeachment of Dilma
Rousseff," Rubens Nunes, 26, told AFP in Sao Paulo, where the massive
crowd stretched along four kilometers (2.5 miles) of Avenida Paulista, a major
thoroughfare.
The
protests are significantly larger than those convened on Friday in support of
Rousseff and Petrobras by unions and social movements related to her ruling
Workers' Party (PT).
In the
capital Brasilia alone, between 45,000 and 50,000 people marched Sunday towards
the Congress, according to police estimates.
The
government was keen to appear to be listening and towards the end of the day
Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo and Miguel Rossetto, presidential chief
of staff, gave a press conference saying immediate steps would be taken to
fight graft and impunity.
"The
demonstrations against the government are legitimate. What is not legitimate is
the coup, violence and unfounded 'impeachment' that is damaging
democracy," said Rossetto.
 |
Demonstrators
protest against the government of President Dilma
Rousseff in Rio de Janeiro on
March 15, 2015 (AFP Photo/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
|
'Go to
Cuba'
In Rio de
Janeiro, people waved Brazilian flags along the coastal Copacabana avenue
behind a truck blaring slogans against Rousseff.
"Get
out Dilma; get out PT!" people chanted. A few protesters among the 15,000
packed there even called for military intervention to end the PT's 12 years in
power.
Rita Souza,
a 50-year-old television producer, carried a banner reading: "Military
intervention now."
"I'm
not asking for a coup, but a constitutional intervention to call new fair
elections," Souza told AFP. "They can all go to Cuba!"
Construction
contractor Alessandro Braga, 37, attended the rally in Brasilia with his wife
and son.
"I
support the departure of Dilma," he said. "The biggest corruption
scandals occurred during her administration and she said nothing."
 |
Demonstrators
protest against the government of Brazilian President
Dilma Rousseff in Manaus,
on March 15, 2015 (AFP Photo/Raphael Alves)
|
The marches
were supported by the opposition Social Democracy Party, whose president Aecio
Neves -- who lost the election runoff to Rousseff -- said in video on Facebook
that "the road is just beginning."
"We
will not disperse," he said.
Litany of
problems
Dozens of
political figures, including close allies of Rousseff, and former Petrobras
executives are under investigation over a kickback and money laundering scheme
that saw an estimated $3.8 billion creamed off inflated contracts over a
decade.
No one has
been convicted yet, but some of the alleged wrongdoing took place while
Rousseff was chairman of the Petrobras board.
Twenty-two
deputies, 13 senators and two governors have been implicated in the
bribe-taking allegations. Rousseff is not being investigated.
In addition
to the corruption scandal at Petrobras, Rousseff is also facing rising
inflation and a Brazilian economy that is on the brink of recession.
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