RECENT PROTESTS ACROSS BRAZIL WORLDWIDE REPORTED!
[ENGLISH VERSION]
SOURCE/LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/world/americas/brazilians-protest-to-urge-president-dilma-rousseffs-ouster.html?_r=0
Protests Across Brazil Raise Pressure on President Dilma Rousseff
Protesters
Gather in Rio de Janeiro
Thousands took to the
streets to join a day of anti-government protests all over Brazil.
SOURCE/LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxMfNUOP2uU
RIO DE JANEIRO — Tens of thousands of
protesters returned to the streets of cities acrossBrazil on Sunday to express their ire against
President Dilma Rousseff, reflecting a low ebb for her as she
grapples with a colossal bribery scandal and a declining economy.
Still, the protests in some cities seemed to lack some of the urgency of
huge demonstrations this year calling for the ouster of Ms. Rousseff, a leftist
who won re-election just 10 months ago, suggesting tension may be easing
somewhat on the president as congressional and business leaders try to prevent
a political crisis from intensifying.
The protest in Rio de Janeiro had something of a Carnivalesque feel to
it; some demonstrators wore bathing suits as they marched through the
Copacabana district as trucks blared samba. But vitriol also marked the event,
with some urging the president to kill herself or calling on the military to
take power.
RELATED COVERAGE
“A military intervention may be illegal, but the people have to mobilize
to make it legal,” said Rosangela Almeida, 53, an accountant, arguing that
action must be taken to prevent Brazil from suffering the economic disarray of
neighboring Venezuela. Decades of dictatorship in Brazil left a legacy of
hyperinflation and human rights abuses, and political analysts consider the
chances of the armed forces returning to power through a coup to be negligible.
Still, rising polarization is feeding fears that political infighting could
prolong an economic slump.
Photo
Demonstrators in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. CreditRicardo Moraes/Reuters
Eying the potential for upheaval if Ms. Rousseff is forced to step down,
business leaders have been pressuring political leaders to prevent the crisis
from worsening. In a notable move, the newspaper O Globo said in an editorial
that maneuvering against Ms. Rousseff in Congress had gone too far.
The head of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, expressed opposition last week
to impeaching Ms. Rousseff, while seeking to advance measures to restore
confidence in the economy. The possibility that Ms. Rousseff could draw greater
support in the Senate bolstered hopes that she could fend off momentum for her
impeachment in the lower house.
Still, some observers warn that the political crisis remains in flux.
Prosecutors are expected to make more revelations in the bribery scandal
involving Petrobras, the government-controlled oil company. The economy is
expected to shrink both this year and next. And Ms. Rousseff’s approval ratings
remain mired in the single digits.
“Conciliation is advancing, but it’s still based on a precarious
equilibrium,” said Bernardo Mello Franco, a columnist for the newspaper Folha
de S.Paulo.
Ms. Rousseff insists she will not resign, even as her opponents hold her
responsible for the scandal at Petrobras because the bribery scheme flourished
while she was chairwoman of the company’s board, before her election in 2010.
She also faces legal challenges over whether her campaign received illicit
contributions and if her government improperly used money from state banks to
cover budget shortfalls.
“There is a process of intolerance in Brazil unseen except in moments of
the past when democracy was ruptured,” Ms. Rousseff said last week in a
televised interview. “The culture of the coup still exists, but I don’t think
the conditions are there for it to occur.”
Many protesters throughout Brazil on Sunday said they were prepared to
deal with the consequences of ousting her. “Impeachment would be momentarily
destabilizing, but it’s allowed in the Constitution, and it needs to happen,”
said Pedro Lopes Siqueira, 35, a public servant in Rio de Janeiro’s judiciary.
Others, however, are not so sanguine. Cássia Regina Dias, 42, who earns
a living making sweets, said she wanted Ms. Rousseff removed from power, but
expressed dismay about the jockeying for power as the president’s influence
declines. “No party will be the savior after such damage,” Ms. Dias said.
Mariana Simões contributed
reporting from Rio de Janeiro, and Paula Moura and Jill Langlois from São
Paulo, Brazil.
A version of this article appears in print on
August 17, 2015, on page A9 of the New York edition with the
headline: Brazilians Return to Streets to Urge Rousseff’s Ouster. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
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Latin
America & Caribbean
Big
protests in Brazil demand President Rousseff's impeachment
- 16 March 2015
- From the section Latin
America & Caribbean
Hundreds of thousands of
Brazilians have joined demonstrations against President Dilma Rousseff, with
many asking for her impeachment.
The protesters say the
president must have known about a corruption scandal in the state oil firm,
Petrobras.
The political opposition
say much of the alleged bribery took place when she was head of the company.
But Ms Rousseff has been
exonerated in an investigation by the attorney general and denies involvement.
Most of the politicians
accused of taking bribes in a kickback scheme come from the governing
coalition.
After the protests, the
government promised a series of measures to combat corruption and impunity.
Justice Minister Jose Eduardo
Cardozo said the government saw the rallies as an "expression of
democracy".
'Virtues,
values, dreams'
Protests have taken place
across 22 Brazilian states and the federal capital, Brasilia.
The largest demonstration
went ahead in Sao Paulo, a major opposition stronghold.
The estimates of how many
people attended the march varied widely.
Brazilian data analysts
Datafolha say almost 200,000 people marched on Avenida Paulista on Sunday
evening.
But police estimated the
number of participants at one million, based on aerial photographs of the area.
Many of the protesters
waved Brazilian flags and wore the yellow shirts of the national football team.
They shouted slogans
against corruption and the Workers' Party government.
Opposition parties have
backed Sunday's protests but have not openly called for impeachment of the
president, says the BBC's Gary Duffy in Sao Paulo.
Senator Aecio Neves, who
was defeated by a narrow margin in October's presidential vote, issued a
statement praising the protests.
He said Brazilians
"went to the streets to reunite with their virtues, their values and also
with their dreams".
'Coup
attempt'
In Brasilia a crowd of
40,000 demonstrated outside the Congress building.
In Rio de Janeiro, where Ms
Rousseff won 55% of the vote in the October presidential election, police said
around 25,000 people had joined a protest there.
"There's no point in
complaining only on social media, we have to be here and show that we are
really fed up," businesswoman Daniela Mello told AP news agency in Rio.
Friday saw supporters of
President Rousseff out in force, with tens of thousands taking to the streets.
Her supporters say calls
for an impeachment, less than five months after she was elected to a second
four-year term, amount to a coup attempt.
The Workers' Party has been
in power since President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in for his first
term in January 2003.
Earlier this month, the
Supreme Court approved the investigation of 54 people for their alleged involvement
in the kickback scheme.
The list was prepared by
Attorney General Rodrigo Janot who alleged that private companies paid corrupt
officials in order to get lucrative Petrobras contracts.
According to the
investigation, high-profile politicians also took a share of the money siphoned
off from the oil company.
Mr Junot's list includes
Senate President Renan Calheiros, President of the Chamber of Deputies Eduardo
Cunha, former Energy Minister Edison Lobao and former President Fernando Collor
de Mello.
All deny corruption
allegations.
==//==
[PORTUGUESE VERSION]
Da avenida Paulista a
Miami, os protestos antigoverno em 12 frases
16/08/201520h12
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Protestos
contra o governo da presidente Dilma Rousseff levaram milhares às ruas nos 26
Estados, no Distrito Federal e até em cidades do exterior neste domingo.
Em São Paulo, maior cidade do país, a manifestação levou 135 mil pessoas à região da avenida Paulista, segundo o Datafolha.
A Polícia Militar de São Paulo estimou o público em 350 mil pessoas - nos atos antigoverno de abril, a estimativa da PM foi de 275 mil pessoas e, nos protestos de março, de 1 milhão.
A adesão foi alta em capitais como Curitiba (60 mil pessoas, segundo a PM), Porto Alegre (30 mil) e Florianópolis (26 mil). No Rio, a PM não estimou a dimensão da manifestação, que ocorreu na praia de Copacabana.
A BBC Brasil acompanhou os atos em São Paulo, em Brasília, no Rio de Janeiro, em Miami e em Londres.
Leia também: Brasil tem dia de protestos antigoverno; veja como foi
Em São Paulo, maior cidade do país, a manifestação levou 135 mil pessoas à região da avenida Paulista, segundo o Datafolha.
A Polícia Militar de São Paulo estimou o público em 350 mil pessoas - nos atos antigoverno de abril, a estimativa da PM foi de 275 mil pessoas e, nos protestos de março, de 1 milhão.
A adesão foi alta em capitais como Curitiba (60 mil pessoas, segundo a PM), Porto Alegre (30 mil) e Florianópolis (26 mil). No Rio, a PM não estimou a dimensão da manifestação, que ocorreu na praia de Copacabana.
A BBC Brasil acompanhou os atos em São Paulo, em Brasília, no Rio de Janeiro, em Miami e em Londres.
Leia também: Brasil tem dia de protestos antigoverno; veja como foi
Em meio a gritos isolados por "intervenção militar constitucional" e até pela volta da monarquia, predominaram críticas à corrupção, referências de apoio à Operação Lava Jato e a defesa do impeachment de Dilma.
A BBC Brasil selecionou algumas das frases que resumem os protestos do dia. Confira!
Há 11 anos nos EUA, onde nasceu sua filha, a empresária Joana Machado, 33 anos, explica uma das faixas que a família levou ao ato contra o governo em Miami: "Na última manifestação a favor da Dilma, um cara dizia que quem não estava feliz no Brasil deveria ir para Miami lavar privada. Queria mostrar que não há nada de indigno em fazer isso". Ela diz protestar porque pretende voltar ao país um dia, "mas antes as coisas precisam melhorar".
Criativa, esta carioca adaptou a famosa frase "Gentileza gera Gentileza", do "profeta" homônimo, figura lendária no Rio de Janeiro, para protestar contra a corrupção. Sem se identificar, ela disse que sua prioridade é o impeachment da presidente Dilma Rousseff.
Houve
quem buscasse se distanciar do embate partidário, como nesse cartaz visto na
avenida Paulista, em São Paulo. Boa parte dos manifestantes na avenida mais
famosa da cidade se dizia "apartidária". Enquanto a maioria
esmagadora reclamava do PT, havia também críticos ao PSDB e ao PMDB.
"Posso assegurar que esta é a única 'árvore-manifesto' do mundo, disse à BBC Brasil o paulistano Paulo Kubalak, na avenida Paulista. "Simboliza o galho podre, de Dilma a Collor, passando por Renan e Cunha."
"O protesto não tem cor", diz Jesse Hilton, analista administrativo, durante a manifestação paulistana. Seu cartaz faz referência aos comentários que ganharam as redes sociais sobre uma suposta "maioria branca" presente nos protestos contra o governo desde o início deste ano.
"Posso assegurar que esta é a única 'árvore-manifesto' do mundo, disse à BBC Brasil o paulistano Paulo Kubalak, na avenida Paulista. "Simboliza o galho podre, de Dilma a Collor, passando por Renan e Cunha."
"O protesto não tem cor", diz Jesse Hilton, analista administrativo, durante a manifestação paulistana. Seu cartaz faz referência aos comentários que ganharam as redes sociais sobre uma suposta "maioria branca" presente nos protestos contra o governo desde o início deste ano.
As críticas a Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva foram recorrentes nas manifestações. Em gritos e cartazes, muitos defendiam a prisão do ex-presidente e o associavam às investigações da operação Lava Jato, da Polícia Federal.
"A (operação) Lava Jato me mostrou pela primeira vez na vida que o Brasil está disposto a lutar contra a corrupção. É isso, a gente precisa ser lavado - e isto inclui o PT, a Câmara dos Deputados e o Senado", diz Nani Catta Preta, ao lado do marido Beto, na avenida Paulista.
Sucesso entre os manifestantes no ato na capital paulista, este cartaz fez trocadilho com o símbolo petista e o filme de Hollywood "A Culpa é das Estrelas".
Líderes do PMDB, como o senador Renan Calheiros e o ex-presidente José Sarney, também foram alvo dos manifestantes nesse domingo. Houve menções isoladas ao presidente da Câmara dos Deputados, Eduardo Cunha (PMDB-RJ), como nesse cartaz elogioso em São Paulo.
Não faltaram menções irônicas às declarações recentes de Dilma sobre metas do Pronatec (Programa Nacional de Acesso ao Ensino Técnico e Emprego) e à já famosa "saudação à mandioca".
Setores que defendem a volta dos militares ao poder marcaram presença nos atos pelo Brasil. Em São Paulo, o empresário Fausto Ferraz, 49, dizia que as Forças Armadas são a "única solução para limpar o país".
A paulistana Hayley Rocco distribuía panfletos a favor da volta do regime monárquico ao país: "Foi o único período de estabilidade política, institucional e econômica do Brasil", diz. "Nunca um imperador, por exemplo, aumentou seu salário."
Com reportagem de Thiago Guimarães e Ricardo Senra, em São Paulo; Jefferson Puff, no Rio de Janeiro; e João Fellet, em Miami.
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