Thousands of Brazilians rallied Thursday in the city of Salvador on a new day of nationwide protests demanding better public services and bemoaning massive spending to stage the World Cup.
More than one million people have pledged via social media networks to march in 80 cities across Brazil, as two weeks of protests — the biggest seen in the South American country in 20 years — show no sign of losing steam.
Anger about a hike in public transport fares has spiralled into a wider movement demanding an end to government corruption — one fueled by resentment over the $15 billion cost of staging the Confederations Cup and the World Cup.
In the heart of Salvador, the capital of Bahia state, protesters — mostly students — massed on Campo Grande square in a carnival atmosphere ahead of a Confederations Cup match pitting Uruguay against Nigeria.
Dozens of protesters created huge banners on big white sheets for the march. Among the slogans were “Come fight for more changes” and “Football above rights: Why, Dilma?”, in a reference to President Dilma Rousseff.
Hamilton Junior, a 48-year-old geography professor, called for a probe of the money invested in host stadiums for the two major football tournaments.
In Rio de Janeiro, where Nigeria meets Spain in a Confederations Cup clash, 250,000 people said they would join the protest. Huge rallies were also scheduled in Sao Paulo and Brasilia under the slogan “Brazil, Wake Up”.
On Wednesday, the protesters scored a major victory when authorities in Sao Paulo and Rio, Brazil’s two biggest cities, canceled controversial transit fare hikes, but that was not enough to placate the demonstrators.
Protesters say they want higher funding for education and health and a cut in salaries of public officials. They are also railing against what they viewed as rampant corruption within the political class.
New Brazil protests kick off in Salvador
