Tens of thousands Brazilian demonstrators took to the streets on Sunday to protest the social and economic policies of President Dilma Rousseff. The marchers claim the country’s leader supports corruption and demand that she resigns or is impeached.
The event, which was promoted through social media, saw around 190,000 people take part, according to organizers. They had hoped more than a million would show up. Police estimates put the total number of protesters at about 100,000, the television station Globo reported.
Demonstrations were recorded in 14 of Brazil’s 26 states, including in the country’s capital Brasilia. Around 400 cities across the South American nation were expected to participate.
People were dressed in yellow and green, Brazil’s national colors, carried signs saying: “Dilma out” and“corrupt government.”
Rousseff’s opponents have been expressing their anger at a large corruption scandal involving the state oil firm Petrobras, with many protesters claiming that the president was aware of kickback schemes.
Authorities allege that some of the nation’s largest construction companies bribed politicians and government officials to secure $23 billion in contracts with Petrobras.
Earlier in March, Brazil’s Supreme Court approved the investigation of 54 people for their alleged involvement in the scandal. Although President Rousseff is not among the suspects, most of the protesters demand that she should be impeached.
Sunday’s protests were the second large-scale demonstrations in Brazil in less than a month. On March 15, more than 1.7 million people from across the country gathered to show their disapproval of the Brazilian president.
