- Under the leadership of President Jair Bolsonaro, more than half a million Brazilians died of Covid-19.
- Bolsonaro will face re-election next year. In this campaign, he is likely to face his political enemies.
- The protest is at least the second time this month that Brazilians have taken to the streets against their president.
On Saturday, protesters in several Brazilian cities took to the streets to demand the impeachment of far-right President Bolsonaro. His reputation has declined in recent weeks due to corruption scandals in the context of the pandemic.
This week, news broke that Brazil’s Ministry of Defense told the Congress’ leadership that if the country’s electronic voting system is not modified to include the paper record of each vote, next year’s election will not be held.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly hinted without evidence that the current system is prone to fraud, but the Brazilian government denied this accusation.
Bolsonaro will face re-election next year. In this campaign, he is likely to face his political rival, former left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Current opinion polls show that Bolsonaro lost to Lula.
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Saturday’s protest was at least the second time this month that Brazilians took to the streets in several cities against Bolsonaro.
Marcos Kirst, a protester in Sao Paulo, said: “I’m here because it’s time to react to the genocidal government we have, which has taken over our country.”
Under Bolsonaro’s leadership, more than 500,000 Brazilians died of Covid-19. Bolsonaro has been widely criticized for ignoring the severity of the disease and opposing wearing masks and social distancing measures.
Bolsonaro is currently under investigation in the Senate, which is investigating the possibility of corruption related to the purchase of India’s coronavirus vaccine.
As of 16:00 on Saturday, on Paulista Avenue in São Paulo, which is a traditional place for political protests, more than a thousand people gathered.
Bolsonaro greeted supporters while riding a motorcycle in the capital Brasilia on Saturday.
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