Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of several Brazilian capitals on Saturday (19.06.2021) to protest against far-right President Jair Bolsonaro for his handling of the pandemic, which has already left more than half a million dead in the country.
More than 20 state capitals were the scene of protests, including Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Recife and Sao Paulo, where, despite the cold, a human tide flooded about ten blocks of Paulista Avenue, the setting for Brazil’s economic capital.
Many of the protesters carried signs with the number “500,000,” alluding to the sad mark of half a million dead that Brazil surpassed on Saturday.
“Out Bolsonaro”, “Out genocidal”, “Government of hunger and unemployment”, “Vaccine now” and “Vaccine on the arm and food on the plate” were other slogans that were repeated in the actions in Brasilia, Rio and Sao Paulo.
The slow pace of vaccination against COVID-19 in Brazil, where only 11.5% of the population of 212 million people has been immunized, was also a reason for mobilization.
“We have more than 2,000 deaths per day. We lost more than 500,000 people to a disease that has a vaccine. I would like to be at home, but we have to come to the streets to stop this political project that is the destruction of Brazil. Bolsonaro: listen to the people,” said Tita Couto, a 21-year-old student who attended the demonstration in Sao Paulo.
By the end of the afternoon, the temperature dropped in Sao Paulo and a drizzle began, but the crowd grew. Supporters of rival football clubs Corinthians and Palmeiras marched with huge “for democracy” flags.
Earlier, in Rio de Janeiro, thousands of people gathered in the city center to repudiate the Bolsonaro government’s actions during the pandemic.
“His position [Bolsonaro] in relation to COVID and its denialism are absurd. He’s already out of reality, out of good sense, it’s not explained, he’s so surreal,” said Robert Almeida, a 50-year-old photographer.
The events were called by the Brazil Popular and Povo Sem Medo (People Without Fear) fronts, formed by dozens of social and trade union organizations and supported by political parties and leaders.
