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Demonstrators face riot police during one of the many protests around
Brazil's major cities in Belo Horizonte June 17, 2013.(Reuters / Pedro
Vilela)
Brazil has entered a second week of mass protests, with hundreds of
thousands turning out in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte,
Brasilia and elsewhere. Unrest left at least 100 injured and resulted in
over 250 arrests on Monday.
00:23 GMT: Protesters in the city of Fortaleza broke
through a police line and entered the Palace of Abolition, the
seat of government of Ceará state.
00:06 GMT: At least 28 people have been injured in clashes
with police in Rio de Janeiro. Most of the wounded were hit by
rubber bullets, pepper spray and stones, officials at the Souza
Aguiar hospital said.
Friday, June 21
23:47 GMT: In the city of Porto Alegre military police
used a helicopter and tear gas to disperse protesters that
approached the headquarters of RBS Group, a media conglomerate
that publishes numerous newspapers along with radio and
television stations.
23:13 GMT: Riot police in the capital Brasilia have
prevented a group of protesters from breaking through the police
cordon towards the Congress.
Students shout slogans during a protest of what is now called the
'Tropical Spring' against corruption and price hikes, at National
Congress in Brasilia, on June 20, 2013.(AFP Photo / Evaristo SA)
More than 20,000 are rallying in front of the Congress in the
capital, Brasilia. Some 3,500 police officers were deployed to
the area to respond, with clashes erupting after a group of
protesters reportedly started throwing Molotov cocktails and
attempted to break through the police cordon. Officers responded
with tear gas.
Riot policemen stand guard as thousands of students shout slogans during
a protest of what is now called the 'Tropical Spring' against
corruption and price hikes, at National Congress in Brasilia, on June
20, 2013.(AFP Photo / Evaristo SA)
22:45 GMT: Police fired large rounds of tear gas against
protesters in the city of Campinas in Sao Paulo state in a
confrontation adjacent to government buildings.
A Globo TV correspondent reported a tense situation as
demonstrators faced off against riot gear-clad officer
22:03 GMT: Police in Rio de Janeiro have already resorted
to tear gas early Thursday evening to disperse a crowd making its
way to city hall. Plumes of smoke could be seen on video
broadcast by local TV.
Authorities in Brazil's cultural capital expect as many as a
million protesters to converge on the city, despite recent
announcements by state governments to scrap plans to increase
public transportation costs. Protesters intended to march on
Maracana Stadium just as a Confederations cup football game was
to kick off.
21:32 GMT: A huge demonstration is currently taking place
in the Candelaria neighborhood of downtown Rio de Janeiro. At
least 300,000 people have marched towards town hall, according to
estimates by the police, who expect as many as a million
protesters to gather later in the day.
19:36 GMT: Rio de Janeiro authorities have ramped up
police strength with an estimated 8,000 officers to be deployed
to handle the demonstration the city’s center and security for
the Spanish and Tahiti football teams. Some 1,200 riot police,
armed with teargas and rubber bullets, will remain in barracks
unless the protest turns violent. The increase comes after the
authorities admitted they underestimated the scale of Monday's
march, when only 150 officers were on duty to withstand a crowd
of more than 100,000.
15:00 GMT: Leaders in two of Brazil's largest cities
reversed hikes in bus and subway fares that fueled the protests.
Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro both stepped down. "This will
represent a big sacrifice and we will have to reduce investments
in other areas," said the Mayor of Sao Paulo, Mayor Fernando
Haddad.
However, protests are still planned for Thursday in both cities.
Protest organizers have called for demonstrations as people
continue to express discontent with broader-scale corruption.
Their frustrations are intensified by high taxes and poor public
services.
12:05 GMT: Brazilian football legend Pele has called upon the
protesters to leave the streets and focus on football, as Brazil
is currently hosting the Confederations Cup, the country’s main
tournament before next year’s FIFA World Cup.
"Let's forget all this commotion happening in Brazil, all
these protests, and let's remember how the Brazilian squad is our
country and our blood," Pele was quoted as saying by TV
network O Globo.
Social media users were less than thrilled by the comments, with
many suggesting that the wealthy sporting great simply has no
idea how ordinary Brazilians live.
00:30 GMT: In a video posted online, an on-duty riot
police officer is described by Brazilian television as having
been dismissed from his post by a superior after refusing to
comply with orders.
The superior is clearly agitated after the second officer
hesitates after being asked to use a police vehicle to block
protesters’ path, and he removes his weapon and dismisses him.
Thursday, June 20
22:30
GMT: A video of Brazilian police officers sitting down with
demonstrators in Sao Paulo during the mass protest earlier this
week has gone viral.
21:25
GMT: The cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are to roll
back transport fare hikes in response to the widespread
demonstrations, according to officials cited both by AFP and
Reuters. The day prior several smaller municipalities had made
similar announcements, though today’s news is significant as Sao
Paulo is the country’s largest city, with some eleven million
residents. Together with Rio, it had been the focal point the
mass protests this week and last week.
Starting next Monday, fares for metro, train and buses will be
reverted back to $1.50 from $1.60, says Sao Paulo State Governor
Geraldo Alckmin. In Rio, bus fares will go back to $1.37 from the
recently announced $1.47, according to mayor Eduardo Paes.
Demonstrators in
Fortaleza display a banner with a message in solidarity with law
enforcement before being fired upon with tear gas on June 19, 2013
(http://lualencastro.wordpress.com/)
19:30
GMT: Hackers replaced a Brazil World Cup Website
(http://copaemcuiaba.com.br) with a popular Youtube video that
urges people not to come to the country to watch the World Cup,
as well as a montage of alleged police brutality at the protests.
The unknown hackers also edited the title of the website with
“Nao Venha Pata a Copa No
Brasil. Do not come to Brasil for the world cup.” That is
a sentiment that has made its way onto signs and chants used by
demonstrators throughout Brazil, who see the link between the
vast sums spent on preparations for the World Cup and the
inability of the state to provide better social benefits as a
symptom of corruption.
16:48
GMT: At least two demonstrators are reported to be injured in
clashes with police near the stadium in the Brazilian city of
Fortaleza on Wednesday.
At least 30,000 protesters threw stones at security forces, who
responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. One person suffered
an eye injury and another was taken away on a stretcher.
The protesters were marching against government spending on the
World Cup and the Olympics. Brazil was to play a Confederations
Cup match with Mexico later in the stadium, which went on as
scheduled after protests were dispersed.
During the protest at Fortaleza demonstrators carried banners
reading "a teacher is worth
more than Neymar," a reference to one of Brazil's star
players slated to appear in Wednesday’s game.
06:50
GMT: The Brazilian government to deploy National Public Security Force in five
cities hosting the FIFA football tournament in an effort to
contain the ongoing protests across the country.
05:01
GMT: Hundreds of Brazilians living in Canada took to the
streets on Tuesday in Vancouver to show their support for the
wave of protests in Brazil.
05:00
GMT: Protests continue in Brazil, with 50,000 people flooding
Cathedral Square and other main streets in Sao Paulo on Tuesday
night. Many expressed their discontent with the entire
government, chanting ''No parties!''
04:52
GMT: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff tries to defuse
tensions in a televised speech by praising the protesters, saying
that the demonstrations were legitimate and that the government
was committed to social change.
02:50 GMT: Sao Paulo
continued to be the focal point of protests on Tuesday night,
with smaller demonstrations seen in the thousands in Rio de
Janeiro as well as Belo Horizonte and smaller cities around the
country.
In the country’s largest city there were reports of looting and
vandalism inflicted on several bank branches. Local media
meanwhile had sporadic reports of individuals in Sao Paulo
hauling electronics and home appliances out of shattered store
fronts, as well as stealing watches, jewelry and mobile phones.
Aside from a tense moment when demonstrators attempted to breach
city hall, however, the situation seemed more subdued than the
day prior. Some fifty individuals were reportedly arrested in
that city while police continued to comb through downtown.
01:30 GMT: Police are attempting to disperse tens of
thousands of protesters converged on Avenida Paulista, the main
drag in Sao Paulo, using tear gas.
In Rio, 7,500 members of the armed forces are on standby to be
deployed if the protests cannot be contained.
Riot polce take positions during a protest in Sao Paulo, Brazil on June 18, 2013. (AFP Photo / Daniel Guimaraens)
Wednesday, June 19
23:20 GMT: Minas Gerais governor Antonio Anastasia
requested the support of Brazil’s National Security Force
(national guard) to help contain ongoing protests in the regional
capital of Belo Horizonte. According to a spokesperson, 150
federal police had arrived to the city.
The city, like many others throughout Brazil, is in its third day
of demonstrations. On Monday, military police fired tear gas and
rubber bullets as protesters attempted to break a blockade.
Students try to break down a door of the City Hall building in Sao
Paulo, Brazil on June 18, 2013. (AFP Photo / Miguel Schincariol)
23:00 GMT: There have been reports of some property
damage. Demonstrators attacked a Banco Itaú branch and destroyed
several ATM machines, though there was no indication of looting,
according to Folha de S.Paulo. There were other reports of stores
being vandalized, though they appeared to be isolated
events.
21:50 GMT: In response to protests, several municipalities
in Brazil have announced plans to lower public transportation
fares. The cities of Porto Alegre, Cuiaba, Recife and Joao Pessoa
all say they will reduce bus fare by 2 cents to 5 cents.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Sao Paulo, Fernando Haddad, said he might
also be willing to consider such a reduction.
21:35 GMT: In an address from the presidential palace on
Tuesday, president Rousseff expressed sympathy with the
demonstrators.
"These voices need to be
heard," Rousseff said.
"My government is listening to
these voices for change. My government is committed to social
transformation," she added.
A vandalized press car from TV Record burns during a student
demonstration in front of the City Hall in Sao Paulo, Brazil on June 18,
2013. (AFP Photo / Miguel Schincariol)
21:10 GMT: Demonstrators have completely overtaken Avenida
Paulista, one of São Paulo's major arteries. Municipal police
reportedly used pepper spray to thwart a smaller subset described
as "radical" which tried to storm city hall. Other groups of
demonstrators reportedly chanted for peaceful protest and against
any vandalism (lower video).
20:02 GMT: Some ten thousand demonstrators are already
gathered in downtown São Paulo, with a large portion of the group
marching towards city hall. No major clashes have so far been
reported and the crowd appeared peaceful despite large numbers.
13:02 GMT: The demonstrations were initially
triggered by a 10-cent hike in bus fare, bringing the price to
the equivalent of $1.60, and fueled by 6.5 percent inflation, as
well as other economic problems. Afterwards, the people started
taking to the streets to protest against government corruption
and income inequality, as well as in outrage over the police’s
harsh response to protesters last week.
12:40 GMT: Military Police (MP) in Sao Paulo are keeping a
close watch on the area occupied by the protesters.
12:32 GMT: About 50 protesters spent the early hours of
Tuesday in front of Bandeirantes Palace, where the government of
Sao Paulo is headquartered. The Palace is situated in Morumbi, in
the south of the state capital. The situation remained tense
throughout the night.
02:00 GMT Central Sao Paulo was filled with protesters
last night. Here, a resident captures the bustling scene on
video.
