Several hundred people demonstrated Sunday, September 12 against Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at the call of right-wing movements, a few days after massive mobilizations in support of the far-right leader.
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The protests, in Rio de Janeiro and other cities, were called for by right-wing groups, such as the Free Brazil Movement (MBL) and Vem Pra Rua (Vnez in the streets, VPR), who had pushed for in 2016 to the dismissal of the left-wing president Dilma Rousseff (Workers' Party, PT) and today defend a "
third way
" for the presidential election of 2022 under the slogan "
Neither Bolsonaro nor Lula
".
Organizers expected large protests, but without the support of parties like the PT of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the rally remained limited. In Rio de Janeiro, a few hundred people gathered on Copacabana beach, many wearing white t-shirts as a sign of political neutrality, mixing Brazilian flags (identified on the right), LGBT colors and “
Lula 2022
” t-shirts.
".
In Sao Paulo (east), several hundred demonstrators dressed in white gathered on Paulista Avenue, where Bolsonaro had gathered some 125,000 supporters on Tuesday.
“
Here we are not in favor of Lula or Bolsonaro.
I am appalled by the number of people who came to support a president who did nothing for the country, who only brought conflict,
”Ivete Ramalho, 64-year-old civil engineer told AFP.
The biggest anti-Bolsonaro protests in recent months, with tens of thousands of participants, were called by the main left groups, including the PT and the Single Central of Workers (CUT).
Almost a year away from the presidential election, Bolsonaro and Lula (2003-2010) are leading the votes in the polls, which show an advantage for the former union leader in a possible second round.
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