At least 25,000 people massed in Brasilia on Wednesday to demand new elections and an end to austerity reforms in a protest fueled by anger over a corruption scandal swirling around President Michel Temer. Organized by leftist groups and trade unions, the protesters poured into the center of Brazil's capital.
Brazil's left is sniffing an opportunity for revenge just over a year since Temer took over from Workers' Party president Dilma Rousseff after she was impeached for illegally manipulating government accounts. Temer, from the center-right PMDB party, is reeling from a probe into his alleged corruption. The future of his market-friendly reforms package - especially cuts in the country's generous but unaffordable pension system - is unclear.
"It's the end of this putchist government. That's why the people have taken to the streets," said Francisca Gomes, 59, who came from Sao Paulo for the protest and carried a funeral ribbon carrying the image of the president and the words: "RIP Temer." Brasilia's security service said that 500 buses had converged on the capital, with some 25,000 protesters. The protesters were still gathering, with a march planned to start in the early afternoon.
"In a democracy, no government can resist when the people take to the streets," said Dorival Pereira, 60, who traveled 18 hours from Mato Grosso do Sul. Like many demonstrators, she wore a T-shirt with the slogan "Elections now!" Temer says the austerity reforms are already working and that more measures, especially pension reform, are needed. Latin America's biggest economy has been stuck in deep recession for two years and is just showing the first signs of returning to growth, although unemployment is at nearly 14 percent.
Comments
Comments are closed.