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Rallies and marches against President Dilma Rousseff took place throughout Brazil on Sunday, as opposition politicians and activist attempted to capitalize on Rousseff's low approval ratings and the ongoing corruption scandal involving the state-owned oil company Petrobras.
The turn out at the anti-Dilma marches in the Brazilian capital were lower than predicted, a fact not lost on organizers who commented that the low turn out should not dissuade the protesters.
"It has become clear that even if the demonstrations decrease, the popularity of President Dilma Rousseff continues to fall," said Kim Kataguiri of the Free Brazil Movement during his speech in Sao Paulo.
According to the Folha de Sao Paulo, Senator Aloysio Nunes Ferreira of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party said the amount of demonstrators was less important than the “oceanic” opposition to President Rousseff.
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As with previous anti-government demonstrations, protesters delivered a wide-array of messages, including calls for impeachment proceedings against the head of state while others urged the military to intervene to oust the elected president.
“One way or another, Dilma is going to leave,” said a speaker on behalf of the Revolted Online group, one of the more radical anti-Dilma groups that called for Sunday’s protests.
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Organizers in Brasilia had predicted upwards of 25,000 people, however one hour after the march was meant to begin, only a few thousand had turned up. Once the march began at approximately 11 a.m. local time, police estimated a presence of 15,000 demonstrators, less than the previous anti-Dilma rally in March this year.
The march in Brasilia was also marked by political divisions, with some demonstrators supporting Eduardo Cunha, the current president of the Chamber of Deputies, and others opposing him. Cunha has emerged as the leader of the current political opposition to President Rousseff.
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Aecio Neves, the right-wing candidate defeated by Rousseff in last year's elections and a leading opposition figure, participated in the rally held in Belo Horizonte. Neves, who had declined to participate in previous anti-Dilma rallies, told reporters he was participating “to clearly show that this rallies do not belong to political parties, they belong to society.”
The largest rally took place in the opposition stronghold of Sao Paulo where opposition politician Jose Serra attended the rally. Serra was also defeated by Rousseff in her first election in 2010.
Much of the protest messages also targetted former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
According to Folha de Sao Paulo, over 200 cities in Brazil were expected to see anti-Dilma rallies, significantly fewer than the amount of cities that held rallies in March.
Supporters of President Rousseff and former president Lula held a counter demonstration in front of the Lula Institute in Sao Paulo.
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