June 21, 2013 -- Updated 1840 GMT (0240 HKT)
Large demonstrations in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Brasilia came a
day after a movement that started as a protest against a 9-cent increase
in bus fares scored a major victory. FULL STORY
|
WHY PROTEST?
June 21, 2013 -- Updated 1227 GMT (2027 HKT)
Brazilians march despite fare reversal
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: One death is reported in Sao Paulo state
- Demonstrators list a variety of demands directed at Brazil's government
- They chant "Down with corruption" and "I can live without the World Cup"
- Brazil's president has postponed a trip to Japan in light of the protests
Are you witnessing the protests in Brazil? Share your images and videos with CNN iReport.
Rio de Janeiro (CNN) -- A massive crowd of
demonstrators swelled around an iconic church in the heart of Rio de
Janeiro on Thursday, shouting "down with corruption" and "I can live
without the World Cup."
CNN affiliate Band News reported that police used tear gas in some areas of the city as clashes erupted.
Police initially reported
tens of thousands of protesters in Rio de Janeiro but later said the
crowds had grown to more than 300,000 people.
One death was reported in
Sao Paulo state, where a young man was run over by an SUV at an
intersection during a demonstration, state police said.
Outside the Candelaria
Church, organizers called for protesters to march peacefully as they
listed a wide variety of demands directed at the South American
country's government.
In the nation's capital, a
group of protesters on Thursday twice forced their way into the foreign
ministry building. Police repelled both incursions, but not before
protesters lit a fire inside the building, state media reported.
Photos: Protests in Brazil
Why Brazilians are protesting
Brazilian FM responds to protests
Grievances unleashed in Brazil protests
Large demonstrations in
Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Brasilia came a day after a movement that
started as a protest against a 9-cent increase in bus fares scored a
major victory.
Both Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro agreed to roll back the prices on bus and metro tickets.
But will it be too little, too late?
The movement has
galvanized people across the country who say they're fed up with high
taxes and a lack of services -- such as health and education -- while
the government spends billions on preparations for the 2014 World Cup.
In Rio de Janeiro on
Thursday, protesters held signs saying, "I'd swap 10 stadiums for one
decent hospital in this country" and "I'd give up the World Cup for
better education in my country."
"Fundamentally, people
are on the streets because they have very different demands, but they
don't have a forum for expressing them and for being heard. And the bus
fares were just one of these many many different things," said
Alessandra Orofino, one of the protest organizers.
Orofino said she hoped this week's protests will mark a turning point in Brazil, where democracy is still relatively young.
"I think that what
government hasn't understood is that there will be no single demand that
will calm people down, per se. I think fundamentally, if they don't
open up, if they don't become more transparent and truly welcoming of
participation, people will continue to demonstrate," Orofino said. "It
might be for now. It might be in the future, but this isn't going to go
away until we have a democracy that works."
Protesters say the
poorest are being short-changed while the government spends the large
bills on new stadiums and glitzy infrastructure for the soccer
competition Brazil is hosting next year and the Olympic Games coming in
2016.
They complain that corruption is driving up the costs.
Brazilian protester: Where do taxes go?
Protests remain festive in Brazil
Tiny price hike triggers huge protests
The government responds
The country's investment
in those projects includes money for health and public transportation,
Deputy Sports Minister Luis Fernandes has said.
"There is absolutely nothing contradictory between organizing a World Cup and investing in health and education," he said.
An elite National Force,
made up of specially trained firefighters and police officers, will
deploy to states hosting the games, the Ministry of Justice said late
Tuesday.
The government has stressed that the force's mission is to mediate and not repress.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff told peaceful protesters Tuesday that their message was being heard.
She praised them as active participants in democracy and said her government is committed to "social transformation."
Police for the most part stood back, and the atmosphere grew festive and loud, with throngs singing and beating drums.
Hidden in the peaceful
multitudes were bands of rowdies who kicked down doors and broke
windows, looted shops and tipped over cars and set them on fire.
They left a trail of rubble down the protest routes.
While asking police to
back off from peaceful protesters, Rousseff has condemned "isolated and
minor acts of violence," telling police to confront them "with vigor."
In light of the
protests, the Brazilian president has postponed a trip to Japan, the
state-run Agencia Brasil news agency reported Thursday.
Rousseff had been
scheduled to travel to Japan on June 23-28, the government news agency
reported, citing the president's communications secretary. A new date
for the trip has not been announced, Agencia Brasil said.
Weeks of protests
For nearly two weeks, tens of thousands of Brazilians marched through the streets night after night.
Crowds originally
protesting bus fares grew into multitudes decrying social injustice on
Tuesday, as broad avenues filled to capacity for blocks.
The protests come amid
the soccer Confederations Cup tournament, a friendly array of matches,
in which the host country, Brazil, plays against a small group of
national teams from around the globe. The cup serves as a precursor to
the World Cup.
The majority of marchers are young and well-educated.
Matheus Pires, a
university student and one of the organizers, says public transportation
should be free -- especially in expensive, sprawling cities such as Sao
Paulo.
"You can't go to
hospital; you can't see your friends; you can't go to school; you can't
go to work," he said, describing how much the city's residents rely on
mass transit.
Lowering fares, he said, would prove that the government was listening.
But it's too soon to know whether it will bring an end to protests or fuel further and more far-reaching demands.
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