MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Massive women's protests in Brasilia against Bolsonaro's policies

Brazilian indigenous women march in Brasilia to demand that the government protect the Amazon rainforest (AFP)

Tens of thousands of women took to the streets of Brazil's capital on Wednesday to denounce President Jair Bolsonaro, in the third anti-government protest in the city in two days.

The huge demonstration in Brasilia comes as Bolsonaro faces increasing heat over rampant deforestation in the Amazon rainforest as well as education funding cuts, which have sparked nationwide protests by students and professors in recent months, including one in the capital on Tuesday.

The “March of the Margaridas” is named after Brazilian trade union leader Margarida Maria Alves, who was murdered in 1983 during the military dictatorship.

Held every four years, the protest demands better rural living conditions and protection of women's rights.

Many of the thousands of tribal women who marched on Tuesday in protest against Bolsonaro's “genocidal policies” joined Wednesday's demonstration, which also condemned Bolsonaro's plan to open up indigenous territory to mining and the government's policy to increase the use of pesticides and weed killers.