Brazil: supporters and opponents of Jair Bolsonaro face to face in Sao Paulo

An anti-Bolsonaro protester in Sao Paulo, May 31, 2020. Nelson ALMEIDA / AFP

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Clashes took place in central Sao Paulo several hundred supporters and opponents Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday, while the Brazilian president gave himself a walkabout in the midst of a coronavirus epidemic.

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Violence erupted between participants in a demonstration called "  against fascism  " and supporters of the extreme right president who came to protest against the containment measures decided by many governors of Brazilian states against the advice of Jair Bolsonaro . No containment measure has in fact been taken at the national level, the 27 states have taken more or less strict measures, each in their own way, on dates and for different durations, while Brazil has become one of the main Covid-19 foci  worldwide.

Football club supporters at the initiative

Some 500 demonstrators dressed in black, gathered under the slogan "  We are for democracy  " and often wearing protective masks against the coronavirus, were on Avenida Paulista, in the center of Sao Paulo, at the same time as a gathering of several hundred supporters of the Brazilian president, reported an AFP journalist.

►Read also: Brazil and the coronavirus: authoritarianism and denial policy

Police checkpoints did not prevent clashes between the two camps, despite the use of tear gas canisters. Anti-Bolsonaro demonstrators set fire to garbage cans and threw stones at the police, who again responded with tear gas. At least three people have been arrested, police said at the G1 information portal.

The “anti-fascist rally” had been called by supporters of several Sao Paulo football clubs, mainly the Corinthians, but also Palmeiras, Sao Paulo and Santos.

Pro-Bolsonaro circles, who believe that a plan to overthrow the president is being led by parliamentarians, judges and the media, have blamed opponents on Sunday for the violence.

President Jair Bolsonaro participated in a rally of his supporters on Sunday in Brasilia. REUTERS / Ueslei Marcelino

Crowd for Bolsonaro

In Brasilia, Jair Bolsonaro was a crowd crowd on Sunday with his supporters, once again defying health standards and rules of social distancing while Brazil, with nearly half a million cases of coronavirus, has become the fourth country in terms of pandemic-related deaths. The head of state, hostile to containment measures, appeared in front of the presidential palace and greeted the crowd of his supporters.

After flying over the rally in a helicopter, President Bolsonaro, surrounded by his bodyguards, carried two children on his shoulders, then mounted on a police horse, ovationed by his supporters.

(with AFP)

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  • Brazil
  • Coronavirus
  • Jair Bolsonaro

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