MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilians stage new protests against Bolsonaro: president wants civilians armed to halt spread of violence

The former Army captain prefers rifles over beans

Scores of Brazilians Saturday flocked to the streets of many cities nationwide demanding the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro, who in an unrelated event once again insisted firearms in the hands of civilians would prevent the increase of urban violence.

Bolsonaro also criticized opposition leader and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, for his stance regarding private ownership of guns.

Thousands of people took to the streets in 251 cities all across Brazil to demand Bolsonaro's impeachment in a move called for by labor unions, student organizations and social movements in addition to center-left parties.

Behind the protests were the Popular Brazil Front, People Without Fear, the Fora Bolsonaro National Front, the Forum for the Rights of Democracy Já! and the nine political parties which have already endorsed the opening of the President's removal proceedings, together with over 80 union organizations and leaders of 21 political spaces who were supported by ordinary citizens beleaguered by Bolsonaro's policies.

Protests were large in Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Salvador, Fortaleza, Goiania, Teresina, Belem, Sao Luiz and Florianópolis, where demonstrators showed banners reading “Bolsonaro genocidal and corrupt” or “Vaccine in the arm, food on the plate and out with Bolsonaro.”

In addition to red flags linked to the Lula's PT, there were also banners from the Central Unica de Trabajadores (CUT) labor grouping, the LGBTIQ + movement and also those of Brazil, which can be seen more often in marches in favor of Bolsonaro .

Also opposing Bolsonaro were liberal and center-right parties such as Democrats, Brazilian Democratic Movement, Present Liberal Party, Solidarity, Brazilian Social Democracy Party, Social Democratic Party, Novo and the Liberal Social Party, among others, but other right-wing groups turned their backs on the demonstrations.

In addition to inflation, unemployment, and a management of the pandemic that left 600 thousand dead, in the Brazilian parliament there are more than a hundred requests for impeachment against Bolsonaro, who saw his popularity drop to 22 percent, the lowest since he came to power in 2019.

Despite this scenario, Bolsonaro led massive demonstrations a month ago in Brasilia and Sao Paulo.

”Lula has just said he is going to disarm (us, and) even the left says people do not eat weapons, that they eat beans, so when someone goes to shoot at their house they (fire) bean shots,“ Bolsonaro had said Friday in Brasilia.

Controvery has been going on for months now after Bolsonaro's decrees make the purchase of expensive weapons more affordable while the price of food and medicines went up.

”Everyone has to buy rifles (...) they are expensive (...) but armed people will never be enslaved, there are some idiots who want to buy beans,” Bolsonaro said earlier this year.

Bolsonaro focused his agenda Friday on the increase in the price of fuel, which has triggered yoy inflation closer to 10%.