Violent protests erupted this weekend between “antifascist” radical leftists and supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro across the country’s largest cities.
The large organized “act against fascism and in defense of democracy” in Sao Paulo was reportedly organized by fans of the Corinthians soccer club.
“We need to retake this space. The street is ours. We’ll be back next week,” one protester said as he was applauded by others, according to O Globo.
The march attracted supporters of conservative President Bolsonaro, many of whom came dressed in the yellow and green colors of the Brazilian flag.
The arrival of the conservative counter-protesters prompted Brazilian police to place a cordon between them to keep the peace. The two groups then proceeded to shout insults at each other. Conservatives reportedly began shouting, “go to Cuba!” to the leftist protesters, while the leftists replied, “go take chloroquine, cattle!”
Bolsonaro has been a supporter of research suggesting that the drug chloroquine may be useful in combatting the Chinese coronavirus, a claim that has become a point of tense contention along ideological lines. One of the two health ministers Bolsonaro has fired during the pandemic claimed the president wanted to officially label chloroquine safe for use against coronavirus.
“Go to Cuba” became a common slogan against the left in Bolsonaro’s 2018 campaign, a reply intended to highlight the ties between the Castro regime and the past presidents belonging to the socialist Workers’ Party (PT), Dilma Rousseff and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In Rio de Janeiro, hundreds of protesters converged on the square in front of the state government palace Sunday chanting, “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” an apparent reference to the riots in the United States in response to the death of Minnesota resident George Floyd, killed by a police officer. The Rio de Janeiro protest compared police brutality in the United States to that within Rio’s favelas, or slums, with signs calling on the police to “Stop killing us” and declaring that the “favela asks for peace.”
“We are here today because we want to live,” one activist named Santiago told Voice of America. We are here today because we are tired of this genocidal state. We are here to say no more, no more!”
In Brasilia, Bolsonaro attended an event organized by his supporters in continued protest against the lockdown measures imposed in response to the Chinese coronavirus by local authorities around the country. Having arrived on horseback and without a facemask, he did not make any remarks but instead greeted those in attendance, holding children in his arms and posing for selfies with his supporters.
The demonstrations took place as Brazil’s number of cases of the coronavirus pandemics continues to rise aggressively, with a record 33,000 new cases reported on Sunday. As of Monday, health authorities have confirmed close to half a million confirmed cases of coronavirus and over 28,000 deaths, although some analysts believe these figures are below the actual number due to widespread lack of testing.
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