{{Police used teargas to contain street protests on Saturday in several Brazilian cities, stopping demonstrators from disrupting Independence Day military parades and an international soccer game between Brazil and Australia.}}
The protests against corruption were much smaller than the massive demonstrations that shook Brazil in June, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets in a sudden outburst of anger against the country’s political class for mismanaging government money and failing to provide adequate public services.
In downtown Rio de Janeiro, some 500 protesters invaded stands in the parade area, sending frightened families with children rushing for safety. Police used teargas and stun guns to disperse the demonstrators, who did not interrupt the parade.
“It was frightening. There was a wave of masked demonstrators dressed in black,” said Rosangela Silva, who took a niece to watch the parade.
In Brasilia, police used pepper spray to hold back a peaceful crowd of more than 1,000 demonstrators who marched to Brazil’s Congress to demand the ouster of corrupt politicians.
Protesters were only allowed to march along the wide esplanade of Brazil’s capital after the annual Independence Day military parade led by President Dilma Rousseff had ended.
Organizers said many people who had intended to join the demonstrations did not turn up due to the heavy police presence and the prospect of violence seen in recent clashes in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro where hooded youths have become protagonists.
Police arrested groups of youths found with hoods, gas masks, stones and slingshots in their backpacks in Curitiba and Fortaleza, cities where parades went ahead without disruption.
france24
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