SÃO PAULO
Protesters took to the streets in cities across Brazil again on Wednesday, with a variety of causes ranging from opposition to the country’s hosting of the World Cup and corruption among politicians to the poor standard of public health, education and transport.
In Belo Horizonte, police said around 50,000 people were on the streets in what had started out as a peaceful protest, set to culminate as Brazil played Uruguay in the FIFA Confederations Cup fixture at the city’s Mineirão Stadium. Brazil went on to win the match and secure a place in the final of the tournament.
However, a small of protesters tried to push through police lines, and ended up in running battles with riot police, who used rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas in an attempt to disperse the group. Widespread damage was caused to public and private property, including a number of shops which were set on fire.
Police continued their attempts to disperse the crowds well into the night, and were still on Praça Sete square many hours after the original, party-like protests had begun at midday.
In Brasília and Sao Paulo...
In the capital, Brasília, protesters placed 594 footballs in front of the National Congress Building – one for each of Brazil’s deputies and senators – in protest at government corruption.
Later, up to 2,000 marched from the seat of the government, along the city’s grand central Esplanade of ministries, to the newly rebuilt Mané Garrincha National Stadium, many of them protesting against corruption and the public money spent on hosting next year’s World Cup.
In São Paulo, smaller gatherings assembled in different areas of the city, with two groups inevitably taking to the city’s central business avenue, Avenida Paulista – doctors protesting about the country’s public health system, the SUS, and another against the controversial head of Brazil’s Human Rights and Minorities Commission Pastor Marco Feliciano and the “gay cure” proposal, which would allow adult homosexuals to be “treated”, something which Brazil currently bans.
These protests went off without incident. Other cities in Brazil also saw protests, although on a far smaller scales than those seen recently.
Three more Confederations Cup matches are still to be played – one on Thursday and two on Sunday, including the final. The event, which has been watched by millions around the world and is seen as a “dry run” for the World Cup, which starts in 2014, has typically been a focal point for protesters.
Government side...
The Brazilian authorities have attempted to address a number of the protesters’ key demands: a 20-centavo rise in bus and metro tickets – which initially sparked the wave of protests – has been cancelled in many cities and a proposed constitutional amendment on the division of criminal investigative powers, known as PEC 37, has been defeated in government.
President Dilma Rousseff tried to quell the protests by promising five “pacts” with the nation to bring about political reform and greater government transparency, as well as extra cash for public services, notably a pledge for oil royalties to go toward education and health.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Senate also voted through a proposal to add both active and passive corruption heinous crimes, with tougher sentences and compulsory jail terms.
However, with many more grievances as yet unresolved, the protests are thought likely to continue for some time yet.
