Hundreds of people protested against Bolsonaro in Brazil after a week of tensions

Hundreds of Brazilians took part in protests against President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday called by right-wing movements, a few days after massive mobilizations in support of the far-right president.

The protests in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo, among other cities, They were called by right-wing social groups, such as the Movimento Brasil Livre (MBL) and Vem Pra Rua (VPR), which in 2016 promoted the impeachment of leftist Dilma Rousseff. (Workers’ Party, PT) and now defend a “third way” for the presidential elections of 2022 under the slogan “Neither Bolsonaro nor Lula”.

Its organizers expected large demonstrations, especially after the accession of some deputies and left leaders (PDT, PSB, PCdoB, among others), motivated by the pro-government belligerent acts of last Tuesday.

Corn without the support of groups like the PT of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva or the Central Unica de Trabajadores (CUT), the call was far from being massive.

In Rio de Janeiro, a few hundred people gathered in the morning on Copacabana beach, many wearing white t-shirts as a sign of political neutrality, mixing Brazilian flags (identified on the right), LGBT colors and “Lula 2022 ”Messages imbued with the slogan“ Out with Bolsonaro ”.

In São Paulo, Hundreds of protesters in white gathered in the afternoon on central Avenida Paulista, where Bolsonaro had gathered last Tuesday some 125,000 supporters.

“Here we are not in favor of Lula or Bolsonaro. I’m afraid of the number of people who came out to support a president who did nothing for the country, who only brought conflict64-year-old civil engineer Ivete Ramalho told AFP.

The main protests against Bolsonaro in recent months, with tens of thousands of participants, were called by main left groups, including the PT and CUT, absent from Sunday’s protests.

Almost a year before the presidential elections, Bolsonaro and Lula (2003-2010) have the highest intention to vote in the polls, showing an advantage for the former union leader in a possible second round.

Besieged by judicial inquiries, inflation, unemployment and chaotic handling of the pandemic that has eroded its popularity, Bolsonaro stepped up his attacks on institutions last Tuesday, especially against justicethe.

A few days later, he reconsidered his threats and assured that his recent statements against the Supreme Court had been pronounced “in the heat of the moment”.

(With information from AFP)

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